Henry Earl Thompson ~ Obituary

Funeral services for Paris native Henry Earl Thompson, 77, will be held at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, March 28, 2010 at McEvoy Funeral Home with entombment to follow in Hillcrest Cemetery.

The family will be receiving friends on Saturday, March 27, 2010, from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Arrington Funeral Directors.

Mr. Thompson died on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at his Jackson residence. Arrington Funeral Directors is in charge of local arrangements.

Born March 3, 1933, he was the son of the late Otis and Blanche Scarbrough Thompson.

In 1962 he co-founded TLM and Associates retiring in 1995. He later established Thompson Development Company retiring from there in 2001. Mr. Thompson received his bachelor’s degree from of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois.

He was a licensed engineer and surveyor in thirty-two states and was selected to the Who’s Who of Civil Structural Engineers. He had served on numerous boards including the Board of Engineering Examiners. He developed and patented a dust collection system for steel mills, as well as developing a manufacturing system for the design and processing of ceramic tile with the Florida Tile Company in Lakeland, FL.

He was the lead engineer on the construction of the Liberty Bowl Stadium in Memphis, TN, as well a numerous bridges throughout the area.

He was a member of St. John’s Masonic Lodge 332 of Jackson and a Shriner with Al Chymia Temple in Memphis, TN. He was a very avid hunter and fisherman for many years.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Barbara Vaughn Thompson; two sons, Michael Earl Thompson and wife Carol of Medina and Randy Thompson and wife Patricia of Finger; a daughter, Lisa Thompson Meeson and husband Dana of Three-Way; two brothers, J.W. Thompson of O’Fallon, Mo., and Ray Thompson of Paris; a sister, Nita Adams of Jackson; eight grandchildren, Amanda Thompson, Hunter Thompson, Brandon Thompson, Hannah Thompson, Haley Thompson, Amber Thompson, Melinda Meeson and Allison Meeson.

He was preceded in death by two sisters, Margaret Lewis and Evelyn James.

Pallbearers to serve will be Stanley Thompson, Steve Thompson, Bob Thompson, Hunter Thompson, John Etheridge and John Adams.

Honorary pallbearers to serve will be H.N. “Hot” Elkins, Dennis Henderson, David Cisco, Robert Scarbrough, Nat Baxter, Dan Nichols and Glen Holt.

The family is requesting that memorial contributions be directed to the Earl Thompson-TLM Engineering Scholarship Fund, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, TN 38238.

Arrington Funeral Directors
148 W. University Parkway
Jackson, Tennessee 38305

Reprinted from THE PARIS POST-INTELLIGENCER
Paris, Tennessee
March 26, 2010 Edition ~ Used by Permission