A. Milton (Tommy) Thompson Jr.

A. Milton (Tommy) Thompson, Jr. was born on June 22, 1927 at Roberts, Idaho to Fern Rider and Aaron Milton Thompson, Sr., and passed away June 27, 2013, after a brief illness. He was surrounded by family and friends at his home near Hamer. Milt grew up on farms in the Mud Lake and Hamer area with his siblings Jake, Dorothy (Mitchell) and Raym. Most farming was done with horse drawn equipment at that time and the roads were just windblown sand tracks. Milt attended Hamer School for all 12 years, but in his junior year he contracted polio and spent 6-months in the Pocatello hospital. The staff used the “Nurse Kenney” method of treatment, wrapping boiling hot wool blankets around his arms and legs twice a day to deter the virus. He credits this practice with saving his life, although he would walk with a small limp for the rest of his days. He returned to Hamer and graduated a year late in 1946. His parents had moved to Pocatello in 1942 to work for the railroad, but big town life wasn’t for him so he returned to Hamer and lived on his own at the age of 14, working and living with the Bill Shupe family. He farmed in the summer for wages and worked and did chores in the winter for board and room. In June of 1946 he met Deoine Bates of Rigby and they were engaged when his draft notice came and were married on October 9, 1946. Their vows would last for 66 years until her death in 2012. Their first child, a girl, died shortly after her birth a year later, followed by Don in 1949, Neal in 1951 and Kay in 1953. They first made their home at Dubois where Milt was the government trapper. He saw the benefit of beaver in streams and would transplant them (on his own without direction from the agency) away from farm and irrigated areas into drainages where he thought the resource could use a boost. He would see the benefits decades later where they had created beaver dam complexes and increased the water tables. He then worked for the U. S. D. A. Sheep Experiment Station for a few years, before returning to Hamer to work on farms, returning to the “Sheep Station” in 1958 where he would work until he retired in 1979. At his retirement party he said: “I’m going somewhere that nobody knows me. Everybody wants me to work. I’ve been working for 50 years.” Milt was a 4-H leader, teaching generations of youth to wield and the intricacies of small engines. He liked to square dance and supported many community programs. He “retired” to Hamer where he would go on to work for another 34 years as a farmer, horse breeder, mechanic, builder, plumber, repairman, back-hoe operator, and any other vocation imaginable that he decided to undertake. He assisted with building homes for his son and two of his grandchildren and remodeled several homes for others, along with building a guest ranch for Small Cattle Company in Medicine Lodge. He traveled to Alaska yearly where he and friend, Dan France, would salvage wrecked airplanes and rebuild them in Dan’s shop, while taking time out to fly to the Alaskan peninsula, landing on the beach and fishing to their hearts content. No job was too small or too big for his attention. Milt’s travels would also take him to Australia three times to visit his son Don and his family where he made many friends that would later travel to Idaho to visit him. He loved to attend the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas with good friends Bill and Charlotte Laycock where they attended all 10 performances for over 20 years. In his late 60’s he went to Honduras with his brother, Jake, on a service mission for the 7th Day Adventist Church where they built and plumbed a dormitory for a school in a remote area. He also spent many winters helping Jake plumb rest homes and hospitals in Washington. He was a supporter of his grandchildren’s horse shows, rodeos, and ball games where his voice always carried over the crowd as he was rather critical of referee’s and pick-up men. Wherever he went he would make life-long friends that kept in close contact with him. Students that worked under his direction at the Sheep Station still stopped in to see him years after his retirement. He made a big difference in the lives of many people. In 2012 he and Deoine were named “Outstanding Citizen’s of the Year” by the Hamer Lions Club for their community service. Milt is survived by son, Don (Yabbo) Thompson of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; daughter, Kay (Bill) Slavin of Carmen; grandchildren Lori Smith, Kim Thompson, Chani (Dennis) Lucardi, Ravi Thompson, Kristi (Brent) Hibbert, Holly (Zane) Davis, Shawn (Larae) Burtenshaw; step-grandchildren, Jennifer (Jake Zollinger and Stephanie Slavin; sister-in-law Jerry Colvin and 17 great-grandchildren, with one on the way; many cousins, nieces and nephews who all had a special relationship with him as “Uncle Tom.” He was preceeded in death by his parents, wife Deoine; siblings, infant daughter, son Neal and son-in-law, Mike Burtenshaw. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 3, 2013, at the Hamer LDS Chapel. The family will meet with friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, and from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., prior to services, both at the church. Interment will be in the Rigby Pioneer Cemetery. Services are under the care of Eckersell Memorial Chapel in Rigby. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mud Lake Senior Center, Hospice of Eastern Idaho, or to your local 4-H Club.