Ed began working when he was 12 years old to help his mother pay bills. He told us so many stories of his adventures while on his paper route. As a senior at C.E. Byrd High School, Ed decided to join the United States Air Force. He went through Firefighter training and decided after a huge barracks fire one night on the beach, that he needed to turn in his boots the next day. He became a telephone line man and was stationed in Hawaii for most of his tour. Ed always talked about how beautiful it was in Hawaii and that he wanted to go back one day. When he returned home he began working for the Louisiana DOTD. He was on the crew that built the Shreveport Barksdale Bridge going from Bossier City to Shreveport and the Jimmie Davis Bridge. He retired from the state and began working for Aillet, Fenner, Jolly & McClelland Consulting Engineers in which he also retired. After his second retirement, he opened his own business along with his son-in-law and specialized in cabinetry. He was a talented craftsman and worked as long as his health allowed him.
Ed was a family man with godly values and had an impeccable work ethic. He loved everyone with unconditional love, even when we did not make it easy! He loved the outdoors and spent his winters at his deer lease with his close friends and his grandson at the Leatherman Creek Hunting Club. He would have lived outdoors in a tent if he could have. He also loved to fish, was on a Championship Bowling Team and participated in Bow tournaments. Ed had a green thumb and could grow anything in his garden.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Jean Thompson; daughter, Cynthia Thompson Keeter; father, Edward Nathaniel Thompson; mother, Addie Rae Guess; stepfather, Mark Guess; and sister, Aline Thigpen; step brother, Thomas Guess; step brother-in-law, Ronnie Powell.
Ed is survived by his daughters, Sonya Hall and husband Shawn and Linda Oswalt and husband Larry; son, Edward Neil Thompson, Jr., son-in-law, Dennis Keeter; step brother, Jackie Guess and wife Carolyn; step sister, Sue Powell; step sister-in-law, Peggy; grandchildren, Jonathon Thompson and wife Jordan, Jessica Hall and fiancé Todd Heard, Tabatha Martin, Tasha Kiel and husband Mitchell, Colbi Touchet and husband Dalton, Bonnie Kelley, Shanna Carter and husband Tim, Haley Thompson, Nash Thompson; great grandchildren, Zachary Thompson, Easton Thompson, Jayda Martin, Hayla Briggs, Marion Briggs, Jr., Maci Kiel, Kadee Kiel, Gracelyn Touchet, Lillie Touchet, Emma Kelley; and several nieces and nephews.
Services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2020 at Hill Crest Memorial Chapel. Interment will follow at Hill Crest Memorial Park.
The family would like to thank the amazing Nurses and Doctors at the Innovative Specialty Hospital in Bossier City and the Staff at Garden Park that treated “Neil” like he was family.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.hillcrestmemorialfh.com
