Ella Futrell Thompson

Ella M. Futrell Thompson, born March 20, 1936, in Northampton County (George Crossroad), to the late Willie C. Futrell and Jessie W. Johnson. She departed this life at ECU Medical Center in Greenville, NC, March 10, 2026, at 6:14PM. At an early age, she joined Mill Branch Baptist Church, where she served as an usher. She was a graduate of John B. Bond High School in Lewiston, NC and attended some evening college in Norfolk, VA. Ella Mae relocated to NY and stayed with Lee and (Aunt) Lillian Jenkins Stephenson. She joined the Young Adult Choir at Walker Memorial Baptist Church in Harlem. Ella married James A. Thompson and to that union one daughter was born. When she was unable to travel to Walker Memorial, she joined Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Brooklyn so she could walk to Sunday School near her home. Ella was on the forefront when the Head Start and the In-House PTA programs were beginning at PS 129 in Bed-Stuy neighborhood of NY. She also worked on the congressional campaign with Shirley Chisolm who became the first African American Congresswoman. In 1970 Ella Mae moved to Baltimore, MD. She worked at Hochschild Kohn in the Courtyard Restaurant. After about a year, she moved back to Aulander, NC, to help care for her mother. After her mother’s death She moved to Philadelphia and joined Greater White Rock Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. Raymond Lassiter and she was a dedicated president of the senior choir and deaconess’ board.  She retired from University of Pennsylvania.

In 1995 she relocated to Greenville, NC to live with her daughter. In those 30 years, she met a lot of people, enjoyed walking to Piggly Wiggly, playing word games and solitaire on the computer, soap operas and everything on the Game Show Network. She was an avid NY Mets and Dallas Cowboys fan. Ella Mae was preceded in death by her siblings, Willie L., Mollie A., Ronald L., and Glenwood C. Futrell. Mourning her loss: Daughter, Sheryl A. Thompson; Bonus Daughter, Charlotte G. Pitt, of the home Greenville; Sisters; Freddie V. Davis, Boiling Springs, SC and Jessie C. Futrell of Gaffney, SC and her Brother, Douglas Futrell of Spartanburg, SC, and a host of special nieces, nephews, and cousins.