Clarence V Thompson

Clarence Victor Thompson, known to everyone as Spanky, died on March 22, 2024, in his home in Sun City Center, Florida. He was 98 years old. He is survived by his wife, Vera (Sommers), son, Randy (Audrey), stepson Dick Hill, stepdaughter Marcia (Walter) Demczar, nine grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters Mildred Bailey and Claudette Voak, and his brother Jack.

Spanky was born to Mildred and Claude Thompson in Rochester, New York, on December 15, 1925. He was the second oldest of fifteen children. He married his first wife, Thelma Watkins, in 1946 in Penn Yan, New York, and welcomed three children: Rudy, Judy, and Randy.

He graduated from Plattsburgh High School and started working at a local grocery store, where his knowledge of all things meat and butchering began. That led to him and two partners opening the Bath Packing Company in 1957, which was legendary in the region. Friends and neighbors came from all over the area for their delicious hot dogs!

He married his second wife Vera in 1977 in Bath, New York. In 1982, he sold his share of Bath Packing and they moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

After eight years in Chapel Hill, they moved to Sun City Center, where they enjoyed several decades of warm weather, golf (where he earned three holes-in-one), and of course, softball. Spanky played baseball and softball for most of his life. He even made it to the Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2008, after winning 13 championship rings! His teammates said “he was an unselfish player…always willing to help the team in any capacity.” Many of his family and friends would agree. Spanky was a true team player at everything he did. Whether it was fixing something for a neighbor, or making a friend a wooden candlestick, he was always helping others with a smile on his face and a beer in his hand. He will be missed by all those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

For those who would like to join his family, the internment for Spanky Thompson will be held on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 10:45 a.m. at Groover Funeral Home at Mansion Memorial Park in Ellenton, Florida. A memorial service will be held at Trinity Baptist Church in Sun City Center at 3 p.m. that same afternoon. Please join us immediately following for dinner at the South Hillsborough Elks Lodge in Ruskin. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity in Spanky’s honor. Let’s help others, just as Spanky did his entire life.