William Lester Thompson Jr.

1932 - 2022

William Lester Thompson Jr. of Richardson, Texas went to be with his Savior on June 8, 2022 at the age of 89. He was born December 18, 1932, in Midland, Midland County, Texas to William Lester Thompson Sr. and Mamie Flossie Jordan. Professionally he was known as Bill, but family and friends always called him Dub. He went to Midland schools graduating from Midland High School in 1949. A precocious child, he was reading and doing basic math when he was four and started school in the second grade at age 6. He was then promoted to the fourth grade, skipping the third. He was musically and artistically inclined. When 15 years old, he was a featured cornet soloist playing the difficult Carnival of Venice composition with the High School Band in concert. He was also Vice President of the National Honor Society. He then attended Texas Tech College, before it became University, and interrupted his education to volunteer with the United States Navy. Bill served during the Korean War aboard the Destroyer USS Hazelwood. He was an E5 Communication Technician. While in the Service, he designed a sonar receiver which the Navy adopted for use on some of their ships. He returned to Texas Tech College to complete his degree in Electrical Engineering. He was a member of the National Society of Electrical Engineers. Bill moved to Richardson when he went to work for Texas Instruments right out of college. He was instrumental in the development of their first calculator. In his possessions, he had one of the very first produced. He also worked for Ling-Temco-Vought and LTV Corporation as a Vice President. An entrepreneur at heart, he started two businesses along with a couple of friends. He later used his chemical knowledge to develop a group of lubricant products and started his own business, Bradford Industries. He worked on his own for several years as a Business Consultant helping failing or stagnant companies to restructure their business plan, eliminate waste, and modify methods of productivity to become active, successful businesses. His last business was J & S Delivery Services and Warehouse. The business became so large that he opened a sister business to service another section of the Dallas area. He sold both businesses at retirement. Bill was well known for his dedication and loyalty to his work, his co-workers, his employers and employees. He was a man of the highest integrity and standards. He would accept no less than doing his best at whatever he did. He encouraged, taught, and helped others to increase and advance and to be proud of their accomplishments. He received many awards and recognitions for outstanding performance in his work during his time of public employment. He was featured in every level of Who's Who including Who's Who in the World. While still in the Navy, he married Barbara Nell Dillen on July 5, 1953 in Nacogdoches, Texas. They had one child, a son, Marc Bradford Thompson born May 4, 1962. Barbara passed away on April 15, 2008. They were married 55 years. As a family and as a couple, they traveled the world visiting many countries and places. Bill loved cruises and meeting other people. He was a collector of antiquities, objects d'art, coins and movies. On October 25, 2008, Bill married a friend of many years, Sue Edith Bigelow of Temple, Texas in Fort Worth, Texas. They also loved traveling together, finding new recipes, meeting people and making a loving happy home together. 13 years of marriage just wasn't enough for sharing the kind of love that they had together. Bill was a man of many talents, energy and abilities. There were few things that he couldn't repair or improve. His family and friends also knew him as a loving, compassionate, and caring person. He helped so many people when the need was there during his journey through life on earth. His heart was big and open. He was dedicated to serving the Lord and read the bible and prayed daily. His accomplishments in life did not change the modest private man that he was. He had a ready laugh and a weird sense of humor. He was fun to be around and will be sorely missed by all who knew him, especially his family. Preceding him in death were his parents, his first wife, Barbara, and a nephew, Brett Kyle Jones. He leaves behind to cherish his memories: his wife, Sue Thompson of the home; son, Marc Bradford Thompson of Plano; sister, Helen Sue Thompson Patterson (Don) of Slaton; two nephews, Phillip McCoy Cook, Jr. of Carlsbad, NM and Kevin Craig Cook (Margaret) of Highlands Ranch, CO: grandnephew, Phillip M. Cook III of Carlsbad, NM; step-daughter Shirley Lennea Joslin (Eddie) of Waxahachie; and step-granddaughter, Emily Joslin (Jonathan Grubbs) of Houston. He also leaves behind his very best friend Wade Feemster and wife Mary of Athens, TX. Bill was cremated and will rest in the First United Methodist Church Columbarium in Richardson, Texas.