Bill J. Thompson

Bill J. Thompson, 92, died Tuesday, October 18th, 2022 at his home in Gadsden, Alabama, just five days from his 93rd birthday. He was born October 23, 1929 in Gadsden, Alabama to Herman and Josie Thompson.

He married his high school sweetheart, Hester Watkins on August 30th, 1947 in Rising Fawn, Georgia as so many young couples did. They had two daughters, Theresa and Susan and were married for 54 years.

Bill was a wonderful storyteller. He loved to regale his family and friends with tales of his early life, which sounded like they were lifted from the pages of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

After high school, he became a brick and block layer, then a carpenter. He would walk ten miles to work, carrying his wooden toolbox. He was a natural engineer and he could fix anything. So, in 1968, he started Bill Thompson Construction, which is today Thompson Industrial. Bill was a member of Paden Baptist Church from 1956 until his death. He was a faithful Auburn fan and his favorite thing to do was pack up one of his wonderful cakes and head to Auburn for a weekend of tailgating and seeing his "Auburn Family." He loved to travel, tinker, cook, be with his family, and have breakfast with his friends at Jacks.

Bill is survived by his older sister, Jean Callan; daughters Theresa (Perry) Hicks and Susan (Steve) Trawick; granddaughters Heather Letts, Lindsey (Heath) Abbott, Ashley Trawick and Whitney (Michael) Gay; great-granddaughters Lyric Letts, Ali Abbott, Sydney Gay and Sammy Gay, along with many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Hester Watkins Thompson; father Herman Thompson and mother Josie Thompson; brothers Robert A Thompson, Jack Thompson, C Ray Thompson and Jeep Watkins his brother-in-law who was his best friend.

Bill will especially be remembered for his beautiful smile and sweet, loving spirit. He was a true southern gentleman.

A visitation will be held Saturday, October 22, 2022 from 9:30 am to 11:00 am at Collier-Butler Funeral & Cremation Services followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am. Minister will be Michael Gay. Bill will be laid to rest in Crestwood Cemetery

Pallbearers will be Heath Abbott, Jeff Cash, Alphie Morris, Jeff Freeman, Bill Garrett and Bradley Cash.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Don Morris, David Ayres, Tommy Pitts, Charlie Burgess, Clark Hall, Robert Casey, Phil Patterson and Ken Wilson.

The family will accept flowers or memorials can be made out to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation/ Eye Institute.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.collier-butler.com for the Thompson family.