Thomas Alden "Tommy" Thompson

After a lifetime of regaling family, friends, and even strangers with stories, tall tales, and dad jokes, Thomas A. Thompson has a new audience in the company of heaven.

Having fought back cancer for nearly a decade, “Tommy” Thompson died Christmas morning, December 25, in LaGrange, Ky., surrounded by family and embraced with love. Clearly determined not to have another candle on the cake, he died just five days short of his 76th birthday.

Tommy was born December 30, 1948, in Georgetown, Ky., the middle of three boys to Ross and Helen Thompson. Scrawny and scrappy, Tommy always loved a good prank, including the time he and Brother Ross replaced some boxed chocolates with Ex-Lax. Granny, the unsuspecting recipient, probably didn’t find it funny, but we have laughed together a thousand times over this long “running” story. That’s one of the gifts Tommy, also known as Dad and Papaw, will continue to give us. He knew laughter forged friendships, and our memories of his dad jokes told with alarming frequency will be a bridge for us as we move from grief to thanksgiving for a life so well lived.

Tommy also gave us the gift of seeing in tangible ways what Christ meant when he called us to love our neighbors. It’s perhaps no mistake that Tommy spent more than 46 years as a State Farm insurance agent, a company with the motto of being a good neighbor. He saw this work not only as a way to provide well for his family but also as an opportunity to help others prepare for life’s twists and turns. When a client’s child turned 16, Tommy would ask them to come into his office, where he would make them watch a VHS tape of the dangers of teenage driving. Only God knows how many teens heeded his advice and stayed safer because he cared.

Love of neighbor extended across the oceans, as Tommy traveled several times to Kenya on mission trips. His generosity meant hundreds—maybe thousands—of children and families had new mattresses and schoolbooks, access to clean water and nutritious food. For one community, he gave them a place to gather and worship, serving as a major contributor to building a new church. Tommy was intent on helping others, and as so often happens, he was transformed by the experience. For many years, Tommy also helped lead a prison ministry called The Bridge. He went to prison twice a week, leading Bible studies and teaching classes on job skills and relationship building. There aren’t bad people, he would often say, just bad choices—and better choices that can be made in the future. Tommy made incarnate this belief to the point that he gave newly released inmates a place to live on his farm as they began their new lives “on the outside.”

As much as he gave to friends and neighbors, his true devotion was to his family. He was a girl dad (as he often joked, even the dogs were fixed). Most nights, when he came home from the office, he was never too tired to play, finding them in all the usual hiding spots and then “rassling” until they squealed, “Daddy’s the toughest, everybody knows it. No fingers crossed counts.” This “toughness” training extended to whisker contests, where he would challenge the girls to see which one could grow the scruffiest beard. The deck was clearly stacked, and, to his great delight and theirs, he always won. As a family, they camped together and played often, from card games and bingo on Thanksgiving to “Shamu” on vacations and building castles on the white sands of Panama City Beach. Dad taught his children how to play basketball (some better than others), navigate new jobs and relationships, and always work hard and give their best. When the grandkids and now great-grandchildren came along, he continued those lessons, building clubhouses and character at the same time.

Tommy delighted in his wife, Debbie. They relished the simple things: cultivating beautiful flower gardens, watching favorite shows sitting side by side, getting their daily fix of Diet Cokes from McDonald’s, and spending hours playing with—and loving on—their faithful dog companions Hope and Bailey. Tommy liked to call Debbie “cutie.” Even though the term of endearment often left her blushing, he wanted her to know how much she was cherished.

At 6’4”, Tommy towered over most. But it wasn’t his size that made him bigger than life. An Eagle Scout and U.S. Army veteran, Tommy filled every room with his quick wit, ability to set people at ease, and his keen and insightful advice. He loved his friends and UK basketball, days on the golf course and afternoons on the riding lawnmower. He loved the people of Ghent Baptist Church, his mom’s cranberry salad, and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. He loved life and lived it fully, with zest and very little fashion sense. Above all, he loved God and family: his wife, Deborah Carlton; his daughters, Richelle and son-in-law, the Rev. Jeffrey Queen; Shawna and son-in-law, the late Bryan Pohlman; and Kara Beth and son-in-law, Mike Thompson-Wright; his brothers, Ross Thompson and the late Billy D. Thompson; his grandchildren: Madeline and Griffin Queen, Kayla and Kota Pohlman, and Xavier Thompson-Wright; his great-grandchildren, Rosie and Mateo; his nephew, Jacob Thompson; and scores of friends across Kentucky and around the world.

We honor his legacy by caring for one another without reservation or condition, by loving our neighbors, those known and unknown, and by not being afraid to tell some corny dad jokes. A little bit of laughter and a lot of love can change the world.

 In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to Christian Mission Aid ( https:// www.cmaid.org/) or Ghent Baptist Church in care of the funeral home.