Lona Thompson

Sam Britt and Orella Bass held their second daughter, Lona, for the first time on September 26, 1932. It was the beginning of an odyssey that would traverse almost 100 years of striving, peril, love and tragedy. And Lona would see it through with a joyful warrior’s soul and her irrepressible servant’s heart.

Lona grew up in the farm community of White Pond, about 7 miles from Fairmont, NC, with her older sister Evelyn (Eb), and younger brothers Roger, Richard and James. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins abounded, and as Lona later wrote, “it seemed like everyone in White Pond was related to each other.”

By all accounts, she was a serious yet fun loving child. She learned to defend herself early, given the relentless teasing of her siblings. But she also developed a lifelong sensitivity to people in need of love, support, or justice. She later told her kids that as a schoolgirl, she was embarrassed to wear homemade clothes to school, until the day a much younger child saw her walking to the school bus stop and said, “Your dress sure is pretty.”

Life revolved around family, work, and church. But Lona didn’t exactly take to farm life. She was afraid of animals, notably cows, and banished from the fields after “hoeing” down tobacco plants instead of weeds. She always smiled when telling that story.

In 1950, her journey took a life-changing turn. She graduated from high school and won a scholarship to King’s Business College in the boom town of Charlotte. Her parents managed to scrape together enough cash to match the scholarship, and fortunately, her Aunt Lula agreed to let Lona live in her Charlotte boarding house in exchange for doing chores.

She met her first husband George while attending business school, and they married a year later. George’s sisters Martha and Jenece became Lona’s sisters for life. George’s work took them to towns all over the south. Sam was born in 1953 in Bristol, VA; David (D) in 1956 in Asheville, NC. Kenneth followed in 1963 and sister Kate in 1965, both in Wilmington. They would also live in Charlotte NC, Columbus GA, and finally in 1970 Carolina Beach, where Lona lived for over fifty years.

Her family in White Pond remained in her heart and she made many trips “down home” to see her parents, siblings, and to be “Aunt Lonie” to her sister Eb’s kids (with Mutt: Ann, Jean, Bobby, Alfred, Larry and Junior); Roger’s kids (with Mary Ann: Joana and Lisa), Richard’s kids (with Sandra: Richie and Julie) and James’s son (with Pat, James Allen). She never missed the family reunion in White Pond on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was one of her most cherished traditions.

George passed away in 1973, leaving Lona a single mom with four kids ranging in age from 8 to 19 years old. Faith and her steely resolve helped her find a way to take care of her family. Her kids helped her fill the emotional hole that George left behind, just as she had always done for all of her kids.

She went to work for the Town of Carolina Beach and retired as the Town Clerk and Finance Officer after 22 years of service. She was active in the American Business Women’s Association and was Business Woman of the Year for her local chapter. She also found ways to help people in distress and did so throughout her life with no fanfare.

In the late 1980s, Lona became a grandmother to Finn, Dashiell and Bronwyn (D and Maureen) and to Brian and Jenny (Sam and Alicia). She later became a great grandmother to Sienna and Lincoln (Brian and Devon), Asa (Bronwyn and Ross) and Roman (Finn and Andrea).

Lona married Gil Thompson in 1979, and they were together for29 years. She became a stepmom to Gil’ sons Bill and Bobby and grandmother to Amy and Chuck Thompson (Bill and Terri), and later became a great grandmother to another Terri (Amy and Tim). When Gil’s health began to fail, she pledged to take care of him at home and she did just that until he passed in 2008.

Wherever she lived, she sought out a church and exercised her faith and her true servant’s heart. Most Sundays, you could find her “rockin” her pearls in a pew at her beloved church.

Her work in support of those in need continued into her 70s and 80s. She also volunteered at the Carolina Beach Senior Center. She worked at the County Help Center helping homeless people find resources. She worked with Martha’s Kitchen and delivered Meals on Wheels. She provided transportation to folks at the beach who could no longer drive. She befriended people like Mrs. Neese who lived alone and made them family members, helping them run errands and including them at family mealtimes and special occasions. She took in all the friends her children invited home unannounced and became beloved by most of them. And over decades, how many family members and acquaintances did she slip cash to when they were in need - unannounced and unsolicited? All the while smilingly talking up her reputation as being Scottish tight with a dollar.

In April 2018, Lona attended the wedding of her daughter Kate to Doug Mansfield in Burlington, NC. She saw all of her family there and was able to meet two “new” grandsons, Jonathan and Logan Mansfield. It was about this time that her family finally realized that dementia had started to take her away. Her family reluctantly made the painful decision to find her a home where her care would be full time. In 2023, at the bidding of daughter Kate, Lona took up residency at Homeplace of Burlington, which truly became a home for her. The caregivers there fell in love with “Miss Lona,” despite her ongoing “fight” to take care of herself. They rained affection, compassion, and tenderness on her until her last breath.

Lona finally succumbed to dementia and Alzheimer’s on October 10, 2024. The disease took her mind and her body, but never conquered her tenacious spirit. Her laugh, her teasing, her blue-eyed tenderness and her optimism—that is what her people will both miss and somehow keep close.

Rest easy now, Lona Belle. The confusion and anxiousness are gone. Your giving heart remains . . .

There will be a Celebration of Lona’s life on Tuesday, October 15 at First Baptist Church in Carolina Beach NC.

The visitation will take place from 11 am until noon with family and friends at the church.

A Celebration of Life Service will begin at Noon.

A short graveside prayer will follow at Federal Point Methodist Church Cemetery, also at Carolina Beach.

Lunch and fellowship will follow back at First Baptist church after the graveyard prayer.

In remembrance of Lona, please consider a donation to First Baptist Church of Carolina Beach (www.fcccb.org)