Harold Thompson Sr.

Harold Dean Thompson, Sr., 85, went home to be with his Lord on the morning of October 22, 2021. Born on August 7, 1936, he was the beloved son of the late Johnnie T. (Jack) Thompson and Thelma Simmons Thompson of Spartanburg. Harold and his wife, Catherine Hawkins Thompson, were proud members of the 1954 class of Spartanburg High School and thereafter served on the planning committee for their eagerly awaited class reunions.  After three years in the United States Navy, he continued his education at Spartanburg Junior College and then Wofford College, graduating with a degree in Sociology in 1960. That same year, he began a four-decade career with Spartan Mills, serving for thirty years as Vice President of Human Resources. He also served as President of the Spartanburg Area Personnel Association. Upon his retirement in 2001, he worked for the next nineteen years at Woodfin Ridge Golf Club, where he enjoyed his job and loved teeing off with his golf buddies. One of his greatest pleasures in retirement was being part of the Beacon Wednesday Lunch Bunch, the members of which will have a special seating area at his memorial service.

He and Catherine, the love of his life, were childhood playmates, began first grade together, and were baptized when they were twelve. They married on June 21, 1958, and had one adored son, Dean. They were lifelong members of El Bethel United Methodist Church in Spartanburg, where he sang in the choir, served on the Administrative Board, and was chairman of the Board of Trustees, among many other positions. He was recently awarded a fifty-year certificate by the Roebuck Masonic Lodge. For the past twenty-five years, he and Catherine had resided on Lake Bowen, where the calm water and phosphorescent sunsets were a daily pleasure, especially during their long pontoon rides.  They were blessed to be surrounded by wonderful and attentive neighbors.

He and his best friend, Earl Kirkland, attended The Masters for fifty-seven consecutive years, often accompanied by Catherine and Gloria, and he and Catherine followed every golf tournament on television. They also cheered on the Atlanta Braves, the Carolina Panthers, the Golden State Warriors, the Wofford Terriers, and the Presbyterian College Blue Hose. They enjoyed traveling, and if pressed, might have allowed that their favorite spot was Bar Harbor, Maine. They might have traveled more, but as Harold said, "Living on the lake is like being on vacation every day." That was only half the joy, however; the other half was being with Catherine.

Survivors include his wife of sixty-three years, Catherine Hawkins Thompson, and his son, Dr. H. Dean Thompson, Jr., of Clinton, SC; sister-in law and her husband, Sandra Hawkins Ferguson and Charles Cameron Ferguson, of Taylors, SC; his step-niece, Kelly Ferguson O'Dell, and her husband, Robert O'Dell, Sr., and their children, Jenna O'Dell Steele, and her husband Jordan Steele; and Robert O'Dell, Jr; a step-nephew, The Reverend Dr. Bradley Ferguson, and his wife, Michelle, and their children, Lindsay, Logan, and Luke.

He was a wonderful son, husband, father, and friend.

The family will receive friends from 1:00 – 2:45 PM Thursday, November 4, 2021 at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel, 2075 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. A Memorial service with military rites will be at 3:00 PM at the chapel; it will be live-streamed (https://client/tribucast.com/tcid/2739538773). The Reverends Tommy H. Hill and Jack A. Caldwell will officiate, and Dr. H. Dean Thompson, Jr. will deliver the eulogy. The family asks that masking be observed.  Harold would want his family and friends to be safe.

Memorials can be sent to El Bethel United Methodist Church, 820 South Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306, or to the Harold D. and Catherine H. Thompson Endowed Scholarship, Wofford College Office of Advancement, 429 North Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303.

The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks for the dedicated care that Spartanburg Regional Medical Center and the Mary Black Campus Rehabilitation Center gave Harold.

Floyd’s North Church Street Chapel