William Thompson Iii

1962 - 2019

Thompson III, William
1962 - 2019
William Henry Thompson III, of Whipple, Ohio, was taken by pancreatic cancer on March 25, 2019. He was born March 3, 1962, in Pella, Iowa. It's said that Billy's first word was "junco." The Thompsons moved to Marietta, Ohio, in 1971, where Bill's mother Elsa joined a local birding group and ignited their passion for birds. In 1978, the family launched Bird Watcher's Digest in their living room. Bill III graduated from Marietta High School in 1980. With both parents as musicians, music was in Bill's blood. At 14, he took up bass, later switching to guitar. His most successful bands were The Swinging Orangutangs and The Rain Crows. Bill graduated in 1984 with a B.A. in philosophy from Western College at Miami University. His junior year, spent in London, made Bill a world citizen and fanned his lust for travel. He moved to New York, working as an event planner for Ogilvie and Mather, earning the nickname "Thumper." In 1998, Bill joined Bird Watcher's Digest at its Baltimore office. Bill met natural history writer/artist Julie Zickefoose at the World Series of Birding in May 1991, and they were married in 1993. They relocated from Baltimore to Whipple, building a birding tower atop their home. Daughter Phoebe Linnea was born in 1996; William Henry Thompson IV (Liam) followed in 1999. Bill wrote books from home while editing and publishing BWD, including The New Birder's Guide to Birds of North America; Identify Yourself; Bird Homes and Habitats; Identifying and Feeding Birds; Bird Watching for Dummies;; and All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures by Roger Tory Peterson, which he edited. His blog, Bill of the Birds, was succeeded by the popular birding podcasts This Birding Life and Out There With the Birds. Bill continued expanding the mission of Bird Watcher's Digest, hosting the Midwest Birding Symposium and creating the American Birding Expo in 2014. He had a knack for creating community among BWD subscribers and especially for encouraging newcomers and children to take up bird watching. Under his vision, BWD Reader Rendezvous have taken subscriber tours to 11 states and six foreign countries since 2014. Bill launched Redstart Birding, an optics, equipment and expertise venture, in 2018. All the while, he traveled tirelessly, speaking, guiding and giving the gift of music to birding festivals throughout the U.S. and the world. Aided by his supportive and hardworking staff at BWD, Bill was at full strength as a leader and force in the birding world when he was struck down. His awards include a Service Citizen Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; a Moonlight Book Medal for The New Birder's Guide to Birds of North America; and a Nichee Award for Best Consumer Hobbyist Magazine from Niche Magazine. In 2009, he was nominated for a Heart of Green Award for fighting nature deficit disorder in children. Bill received the American Birding Association's Robert Ridgway Award for Excellence in Ornithological Publications, followed by their Roger Tory Peterson Award for Promoting the Cause of Birding, given and eloquently received by Bill on the morning of his passing. Alongside birdwatching and music, Bill was a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and passed his undying love for the team and game along to Phoebe. He was a grilling virtuoso who loved to fire up the charcoal for gatherings of friends and family. He also found great joy in starting up his Massey Ferguson, building fires and roasting hotdogs and s'mores with Liam, and cracking open several Heinekens at the end of a long day. Bill Thompson III is survived by his wife, Julie Zickefoose of Whipple; his children, Phoebe Linnea and William Henry (Liam); his beloved partner, Wendy Clark; his mother, Elsa Ekenstierna Thompson; his brother, Andrew Miller Thompson; his sister, Laura Thompson Dauber; his sister-in-law, Jade Daniel Thompson; his brother-in-law, Wlliam Dauber; his niece, Annalea Thompson; his nephews, Nathaniel and August Thompson; and nephew, John David (Jake) Rudie. He was preceded in death by his father William Henry Thompson Jr. A green burial on Bill's Whipple homestead will be followed by visiting hours from 3-6 pm Saturday, March 30, at McClure-Schafer-Lankford Funeral Home, 314 4th Street, Marietta, Ohio. Donations may be made to the Bill Thompson Youth Birding Trust of the Marietta Community Foundation (mcfohio.org).