Wayne Thompson

Wayne E. Thompson

“The Duck Man”

Star Lake in Hoover lost a little of its shine Thursday, February 27 with the demise of the Duck Man. Accompanied by Cassie, his three-legged dog, and in recent years pushing his walker, he fed "his" ducks daily, tossing them bread and seeds. Wayne Thompson was a familiar fixture at the lake, and the ducks flocked to him as soon as his car pulled up.

He was hurrying to feed the ducks before the trick-or-treaters came on Halloween evening when he fell and broke his hip. He had fallen and broken bones before, but tough guy that he was, had always recovered. Not so this time. He developed pneumonia and a series of other problems that kept him in hospitals and rehabs for three and a half months. He passed peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.

Originally from Fredonia, Kansas, Wayne grew up in depression-era Texas. He was a proud World War II combat veteran who moved to Birmingham after the war. He started as an electrician with Dyer Electric and eventually ended up owning the company.

Wayne was a Mason, a Shriner, and an active member of Hoover First United Methodist Church. He didn’t sit in the stands throughout life; he was a player. He was a varsity football linebacker, a Golden Gloves boxer, a league bowler, a sports-car racer, a golfer, a part-time professional photographer, and most of all, a loving husband and the best dad a kid could ask for. He loved children, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, and Halloween. He participated in Veterans Day events at Green Valley Elementary School, talking with the children about life and survival aboard a war-time, Navy destroyer.

He is predeceased by the love of his life, his wife of 72 years, Ayleene Thompson. Surviving family include his son Wayne Thompson, daughter Patricia Thompson, granddaughter Trebs Thompson, 3 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandson.

Southern Heritage Funeral Home, Pelham, AL.