Orville Earl Thompson

Orville Earl "Orv" Thompson, a long-time Jamestown resident, died on December 19, 2015, at Ave Maria Village, Jamestown, at the age of 86.
Orville was born January 4, 1929, in Woodworth, ND, the son of Alma and Thomas Thompson.
Orville grew up in Woodworth, and married Verna Ernst in February 1949. Orv was an extremely gentle, devoted and loving husband. Verna passed on in October 2014. Orv was a gunnery's mate in the U.S. Navy from 1948 to 1951. He served his country on the Naval Destroyer USS Barton, assigned to patrol the Atlantic Coast of the United States, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. During this time, he was involved in the initial research and testing of a new defensive monitoring system which was later to be called "Sonar". In the early 1950's Orv operated heavy earth moving equipment during construction of the Garrison Dam on the upper Missouri River. After the Garrison Project, he worked for the next 40 years at R.M. Stoudt, Inc. in Jamestown, serving as Service Manager and then in sales until his retirement in 1991.
Orville loved golfing and was a longtime member of the Hillcrest Men's Association. He also served for many years as a member of the American Legion Baseball Committee and as a "premier" ticket salesman for Ducks Unlimited in Jamestown. Orville was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church.
Survivors include: his son and daughter-in-law, Earl and DeAnn (Burkett) Thompson, Normal, Illinois; grandchildren, Kimberly (Stephen) Smith, Chicago, Illinois, Kirk Thompson (Catherine), Jefferson City, Missouri; great-granddaughters, Victoria (Tory), and Natalie Smith, and Jacqueline Thompson; sister, Ruth (Willard) Krueger, Fargo, North Dakota; along with numerous nieces and nephews. Orville was preceded in death by: his wife of 65 years, Verna; his parents; brothers, Donald, Chester, Lester and Henry Thompson; his sisters Esther (Kenneth) Bredson, Irene (Harrison) Clark and Minda (James) Schlenker.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Memorials: Memorials can be mailed to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, Inc. at: 355 Lexington Ave., 15th Floor
New York, New York 10017

Online guest book: www.eddyfuneralhome.com

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