John Edward Thompson Jr.

John E. Thompson, Jr. born July 29, 1931 in Middleport, Pennsylvania, went to be with Our Lord on March 8, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas. He joined the United States Air Force in 1951 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. John served in the Korean War. After Korea, he was stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, where he met Verna Pearl Hemmer. As the story goes, they met at a Policeman’s Ball when he was a young airman. Verna’s friends bet her that she wouldn’t have the courage to ask the handsome airman, sitting by himself, to dance. She told her friends that if they were going to make a bet, they needed to make it worth her while with a dollar and a Coke. She became his wife of 57 years and together they had four children. During his 27 ½ years in the Air Force, John and Verna traveled the world. They were stationed in Canada, the Philippines, Thailand, and Germany as well as various bases throughout the U.S. John and his family returned to San Antonio in 1972, where John retired from the Air Force in 1978 with the rank of Senior Master Sergeant. After retiring he worked at Ohio Nuclear and General Electric before working for Civil Service at Kelly Air Force Base until his final retirement. John was active throughout his life with church. He was an elder at both Mount Olive and Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Churches. His wife, Verna, preceded him in death in September 2011. He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Luella Thompson. He is survived by son, John and his wife, Patricia; his son Scott and his wife, Pamela; his son, Craig; and his daughter, Lisa Magnusson. He is also survived by his fifteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren who he dearly loved.

Funeral Arrangements are as follows:

Visitation: 5-8 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at Sunset Northwest Funeral Home, 6321 Bandera Road, San Antonio, TX 78238

Funeral Service: 10 a.m. Friday, March 13 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 6914 Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78240

The family will gather for a private interment service, at a later date, at Fort Sam Houston.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be sent to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, San Antonio for the Shepherd@50 Building Fund.