Michael Bennett Thompson

West Valley City - It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Michael Bennett Thompson, on October 10, 2025, at the age of 56. Born on December 15, 1968, he was the son of Dave and Eula Fern Thompson, beloved husband of Krista, and devoted father of Sydney.

Michael graduated from Las Cruces High School in 1987. He was very active in the horticulture program where he won the state landscape design competition both his junior and senior year. He also loved being part of the LCHS Modernaires, where that group won the state show choir competition two years in a row. He took great pride in singing and dancing with the choir. He was also a member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church and sang with the New Creation Youth choir through high school.

After graduation, Michael accepted a scholarship to Texas Tech University in Landscape Architecture. After two years, Michael decided to leave school and venture into the National Park system. He was accepted at Yellowstone National Park for one year, and then he transferred to the Everglades National Park for another year. Upon returning home, he was ready to return to college, and he enrolled at the Colorado Institute of Art. After graduation he went to work for the Rocky Mountain News as an illustrator. He also sold classic art in Denver.

On June 24, 2003, he met and married the love of his life, Krista and together they have one daughter, Sydney. After her birth, Michael became a stay-at-home dad and home-schooled Sydney until she graduated. At the same time, he started his own online art business.

Michael was a prolific artist who continued to create incredible art in multiple mediums throughout his life. He worked with pencil, charcoal, watercolor, acrylics, carving, mixed media, computer graphics, AI, and more, always exploring new ways to express his creative vision.

Michael was preceded in death by his grandparents, Ulysses McElyea, Sr. and Hazel Hall McElyea, William B. Thompson and Ella Blakely Thompson, his uncle Ulysses McElyea, Jr. and numerous Aunts and Uncles in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.

Survivors include his wife, Krista; daughter Sydney; stepson Nikolas Golubovich; his parents, David and Eula Fern Thompson; his sister Shannon and her husband Michael; nephew David; niece Michaela; and numerous cousins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A celebration of Michael's life will be Friday, November 14, 2025, 1:30 pm, St. Paul's United Methodist Church.

Through his art, Michael reflected the beauty of God's creation, using the gifts he was given to bring light and inspiration to all who experienced his work.