James Larry Thompson, son of the late Ira V. Thompson and Joy G. Neeley Johnson, was born on March 2, 1945, in Memphis, Tennessee, and departed this life on October 8, 2023, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 78 years.

Mr. Thompson lived a life of public service as a Veteran of the Missouri National Guard, a former trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a former Missouri State Fire Marshal, and a retired criminal justice instructor with Three Rivers Community College. He was a member of the First Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Dexter, Missouri, and a resident of Dexter. Thompson served on the Regional Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors, the Dexter Municipal Airport Board of Directors, and the Dexter Public Safety Board of Communications.

He also enjoyed being a part of the Experimental Aircraft Association. He was a Volunteer Emergency Operations Officer and used the US Army’s (MARS) Community truck. His other pastimes involved duck hunting, HAM radios, flying, and helping municipalities with their radio systems. In Vaughn Wright’s later years, he also assisted Vaughn in officiating funerals.

On July 8, 1967, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, he was united in marriage to Martha Ann “Marty” Stanley. Mrs. Thompson preceded him in death on December 13, 2021.

He is survived by his son, Jon Thompson, and wife Deidre of Dexter, Missouri, by his daughter, Stephanie Maintz, and husband Scott of Jackson, Missouri; and by three grandchildren, Mattie Thompson, Preston Thompson, and Ann Marie Long.

Visitation will be held at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Thursday, October 12, 2023, from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. Funeral services will then be conducted in the Mathis Funeral Home Chapel on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Interment will follow in Dexter Cemetery.

Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.