Dorothy F. Thompson

Dorothy Farnum Thompson, known to friends as "Babs," was "gathered unto her people" from a peaceful sleep on November 18, 2019 at the age of 95. Babs was born in New York and raised in what was then called "Little Italy" in Harlem where the Catholic Church nurtured a warm community. As a young woman, she and her closest friend moved to San Francisco where she met and married the love of her life, Rupert Farnham Thompson (Rudy). They moved to Los Angeles where she lived most of her life. To be closer to family, in 2012 she moved to the welcoming community of The Forum in San Antonio. Babs worked first as a bank teller and then a realtor. After marriage, she and Rudy began investing in real estate with equal parts GI Bill financing and sweat equity. Babs said that she had lived the American dream; though she also faced tragedy. Rudy was murdered in a home invasion in 1994 and her daughter, Patricia Arlene, was lost at the age of 23 in a private plane crash. Babs is survived by her sons Robert Elliott Thompson and James Orville Thompson, and by eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Babs and Rudy loved people, playing bridge, the theatre, opera, and joining the audience at piano bars to listen to good friends sing. Her home was open to neighbors. She was quick to befriend the friendless and to brighten everyone's day with her sense of humor. She will especially be missed by her children and grandchildren. A private memorial service will be held for family at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills where other loved ones are interred.