RICHARD KEITH THOMPSON

THOMPSON Bishop RICHARD KEITH THOMPSON Was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the seventh child of Ernest and Willie Ree Cunningham Thompson on July 7, 1943. He was a graduate of Livingstone College, Salisbury, North Carolina and Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, North Carolina. Livingstone bestowed upon him the honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree. He did further study at San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Francisco, CA; Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC; and St. Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, MO. In 1972, he was appointed pastor of Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church, Washington, DC, where he served as pastor for twenty years. He led the congregation at Trinity in the purchasing and paying off a new edifice located at 3505 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC. Bishop Thompson was elected to the bishopric from Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church, the eighty-sixth in the line of succession of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, in Atlanta, GA, July, 1992. He served as the presiding Bishop of the Alabama-Florida Episcopal District from 1992 to 2004. This district encompassed the entire states of Alabama and Florida, where he administered eight conferences, which included 21 districts with over 300 Churches. Bishop Thompson served from 2004 to 2012 as the presiding bishop of the Eastern North Carolina Episcopal District, which also included the Virgin Islands Conference, the South Africa Conference and the Zimbabwe Conference. At the time of his death, Bishop Thompson served as presiding bishop of Mid-Atlantic II Episcopal District, the District from which he was elected in July 1992. Bishop Thompson served on the Pan-Methodist Commission and the Bread for the World Institute. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hood Theological Seminary and Chairman of Zion Pension Services. He served on the Commission on Family Life and was Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Livingstone College. Bishop Thompson peacefully entered into his eternal rest at home with his family by his side on Saturday, July 16, 2016, after a valiant battle with prostate cancer. Those left to celebrate his life and cherish his memory are his wife of 48 years, Georgia McNair Thompson; his two children, Kerri Thompson Tillett and son-in-law, Rev. Dr. Keith D. Tillett and Richard Keith Thompson, II; his grandchildren, Laci Nicole Thompson, Lawrence Earl Thompson, Kyndal Elaine Tillett and Keith Derrick Tillett,, II; his brother, Empsy Thompson and his wife, Sadie Thompson; his father-in-law, Lawrence Alex-ander McNair; two brothers-in-law, Rev. Jay McNair and his wife, Sharon and Oliver McNair and his wife, Christine; sister-in-law Jacquard Coleman; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Family will receive friends on Monday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. service time at Trinity AME Zion Church, 3505 16th St., NW, Washington, DC. Interment Fort Lincoln Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hood Theological Seminary in the name of the Bishop Richard Keith Thompson Endowed Scholarship Fund, 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive, Salisbury, North Carolina, 28144. Arrangements by McGUIRE. www.mcguire-services.comwww.mcguire-services.com