William Michael Thompson

William Michael "Mickey" Thompson raced into the arms of his beloved mother, Annie, on the afternoon of December 17th, 2025, surrounded by his family and closest friends. Mike was 78 years young when he left us, but the light left by his full and vibrant life will continue to shine for generations.

Mike was born on September 15th, 1947, to Annie McManus, a true Scot, and his father, Richard Shelby Thompson, in Wilmington, Ohio. He lived in Scotland as a young lad from 1957-1958, even playing at Edinburgh Castle. He was the Student Council President and a member of the first-ever graduating class of Carroll High School in 1965. He enlisted in 1969 and served in the Army through 1971. Mike was a creative soul and always dreamed of being an artist, though he thought he might not make any money that way, so he went to Law School instead. He graduated at the top of his class in 1991. He spent over 30 years practicing law and helping those who couldn't help themselves. He worked in Contracting at Wright Patterson AFB and retired in 2008 after 36 years.

He fell into a deep love with auto racing as a young man and spent his days, weekends, and all the loot he had on racing, building cars, and chasing the high speed dream of winning. He and his team, Bagatelle Racing, raced in NASCAR at many tracks, including Daytona and Talladega. In 1974, they attempted to race in the Indy 500, but the car wasn't up to the task. He was a member of race groups such as VARC, BARC, and served as Director of Winchester Old Timers. When he wasn't racing, he posted stories on his website, Dayton Speedway Lives. His love of racing was lifelong, and he took a final victory lap in his blue Bagatelle sprint car in June 2024.

Mike, aka Mickey, was a true clown and spent a lot of his weekends clowning around at festivals, parades, hospitals, and Special Wish events. He loved facepainting, making balloon animals, and making people smile. He always said he wanted to run away and join the circus, and a few times he did. He loved the history and artistry of being a clown. He co-founded Giggles and Grins, a local Clown Alley in Fairborn, Ohio, to organize enough clowns to entertain many events around the community. He also taught an adult class at the local high school on weeknights called The Klown Kollege of Komedy Knowledge, where he taught the art of clowning, face painting, magic, and even let his young clown daughter, Scooter, teach everyone how to make balloon animals.

Mike was a master storyteller. His stories and jokes were so elaborate, perfectly timed, and spoken so eloquently that you couldn't help but sit on the edge of your seat with what he might say next. He always had a way with words and some of the stories were actually true; we're just not sure which ones. You could fill a museum and library with all the oddities and books that Mike collected. Clown figurines, history books, and racing memorabilia, to name a few. He also had a taxidermy frog mariachi band for the sole reason that he kept finding another one at the flea market. He needed the band to be complete and thought someone must be making these things so he kept buying them. He loved searching for treasures at flea markets for things he "couldn't live without".

After retiring, his love of service continued. He volunteered his time and talent in organizations all across the Miami Valley. From being Santa at Carillon Park to giving Underground Railroad tours in downtown Springboro. He also served as the President of the Springboro Historical Society from 2019-2023. He assisted a site called "Racers at Rest," where he raised money to buy headstones for past auto racing drivers who didn't have one. He managed to raise money to give many racers headstones over the years.

His love of the arts continued and led him to be a tap dancer for 28 years at Miami Valley Dance Center in Fairborn, Ohio. He performed in many shows over those years. He took up the violin at the age of 70 solely because he could. His young spirit defied doctors' typical treatment when he was diagnosed in September of 2024 with acute myeloid leukemia.

And even after all of the spectacular accomplishments and wild adventures, the greatest love of Mike's life was his family. He and his bride, Cris, spent the last 29 years sharing in love and laughter. His daughters, Melissa, Cristina, and Shelbe, were the highlight of his life and if you knew Mike, you knew he thought he was the most blessed man in the world because of his daughters. Mike was also blessed by his 9 grandchildren, who filled his days with joy and also served as an endless outlet of people who've never heard all of his jokes. Isabella, Sean, Brandon, Dillon, Lucy, Pearl, Marigold, Duke, and Rudy were to him, "Angels that falled down from Heaven".

Mike is preceded in death by his parents, Annie McManus and Richard Shelby Thompson, his brother, Rhett, daughter, Ann Michael, and long-time friends, Charlie Dean and Ron Titus. He is survived by his loving wife, Cristina Hernandez Thompson, his one and only sister, Patricia (Jeff) Jones, his loving daughters, Melissa (Brian) Donovan, Cristina (Brad) Gibson, Shelbe (Steven) Lane, niece and family, Kellialexis McManus, Annie McManus and Max Joos, and his grandchildren, Isabella, Dillon, Brandon, Sean, Lucy, Pearl, Marigold, Duke, and Rudy.

Mike always promised his daughters he would live forever, a wild promise he would later come to say. But as it turns out, he will live forever. He'll live on in his loved ones, children, grandchildren, many friends, gear heads, bibliophiles, history buffs, and anyone he made smile over his full 78 years. There could never be another like William Michael "Mickey" Thompson, and frankly, there never will be. Next time you sip a margarita, see a race car, a clown in the circus, a magic show, or a taxidermied reptile, you should think of Mike and smile and know you're never too old to try something new. To quote him on one of his final days, " Thank you all who have made my life so wonderful...Go and enjoy each and every day you are given."

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, February 8th, 2026 at Rosewood Manor, 650 Benner Rd. Miamisburg, OH at 1pm. Food and drinks will be provided. Dress code is Hawaiian shirts or bright colors. To RSVP, please text 937-272-4248.