Peter Emil Thompson

Pete was born December 15, 1948, in Berkeley. He spent his childhood in Richmond the way that boys should – outside all the time, exploring and hiking through Wildcat Canyon with his great childhood friends. Pete enjoyed spending his time hanging out with friends and listening to bands in garages. He graduated from Richmond High in 1967. In 1968, he enlisted in The United States Marine Corps. Pete was stationed in Twenty Nine Palms, which is where he discovered and fell in love with Joshua Tree National Park. From Camp Pendleton, he left for Vietnam in 1969, where he was a communication specialist. He returned to the United States in 1970. He was a proud Marine and arrived unwelcome and unappreciated for his service.

He married his high school girlfriend, Marsha Miller, and in 1971, his son Wayne Edward Thompson was born. Once he returned from Southern California he settled back in the Bay Area to be with his family. In 1975, his daughter Renee Elaina Thompson was born.

In 1987 Pete was hired on at Evergreen Oil, as an operator. Here he made many great friends. He was respected by his co-workers for his work ethics and intelligence.

Pete loved to explore. He wandered Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Park whenever he could. This is where he found his serenity and appreciated the beauty that the desert has to offer. Road trips throughout the state and across country were common for him. He was very spontaneous with his trips. As a matter of fact, one morning he woke up, and asked his sister if she wanted to go for a ride to Wisconsin, to visit family. Once there he found out that his cousin, Karen, was camping in the backwoods of Northern Wisconsin , and decided to go find her. Little did he know the impact that day would have on the rest of his life.

This is the day that he met Pam, his true soul mate. Her first sight of him was thrashing through the woods, because of course, he wouldn’t be on the more traveled road. That night around the campfire, he saw all these lights in the woods, and couldn’t figure out what they were. He had never seen a firefly before. Pam took him into woods to catch his first fireflies, and that was the start of one of the best love stories ever.

In February of 1988 Pete asked Pam to move out to California to be with him. Pam’s response was that she would fly out and visit him, and if she liked it, she would move out. Well, Pete was no fool. He took her to Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, the redwoods and the ocean. He got her out of the Bay Area real fast and took her to see the most beautiful state in the country. How could she say no, especially when he looked at her with those beautiful eyes and said “peeze?” In July of 1988, Pete hooked a U-haul up to his van, and he, Wayne and Renee started the trek to Wisconsin to move Pam out here.

Pete and Pam were married in 1989, in Marinette, Wisconsin (her daddy said she had to go back to Wisconsin to be married, since she was his only daughter). Thereafter, they had the marriage that fairy tales were made of. They became best friends, and did almost everything together.

Pete introduced Pam to Joshua Tree National Park, and she also loved the peace and solitude that it offered. They both enjoyed peace and solitude, but their solitude was a together solitude – a solitude with each other, just away from everyone else. Together they joined the Wildlife Volunteers with East Bay Regional Parks, and started working with Doc Quack and his band of volunteers, helping to create a better environment. A couple of years ago, they also got involved with Operation MOM, and helped to make sure that the kids that are serving overseas know that they are appreciated.

Pete was a very special person. Everyone that met Pete liked him, respected him, learned from him and envied him for the type of person that he was, and the way he turned his life around. Above all else though, family and home were the most important things in Pete’s life. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren, and was never happier than when his whole family could be together.

He has touched so many lives, has made a difference in this world, and will truly be missed.