Thompson, Kenneth R.M. ‘Ken’

Kenneth Reid MacKenzie Thompson, 83, of Corvallis, OR, died at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center on May 18, 2022, surrounded by loving family. Ken was born July 31, 1938, in Chicago, IL, to the late Dr. Kenneth Reid McKerroll Thompson and Helen Hevron Thompson. He graduated from Morgan Park High School in 1956 and received his BS from the University of Wisconsin in 1962. He served two years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. After earning a JD from Harvard Law School in 1965, Ken joined the Chicago law firm, Chapman & Cutler, specializing in corporate finance until his 2003 retirement. All his life, Ken was engaged with people and issues around him. When protesters were arrested during the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention, he headed to the jailhouse: “they’re going to need lawyers.” For more than 25 years, Ken served on the Council of the James R. Jordan Boys & Girls Club, including several years as chair. Ken married Joan Hutcheson in 1968. They raised four children in a vintage, 19th-century home in Lake Forest, IL, advertised as “needing work.” So Ken became a self-taught carpenter, plumber, and electrician, renovating their suburban home, and putting those skills to use on the second home he and Joan built on the beach near Manistee, MI. He was an adventurous traveler throughout the US and around the globe, and a lifelong sports enthusiast. Ken faced life’s unexpected challenges with tenacity, good humor, and grace. He built strong relationships throughout his life and will be dearly missed by his many friends. He is survived by his wife, Joan Hutcheson Thompson of Corvallis, OR; son Allen (Pamela) Thompson of Corvallis, OR; twin daughters, Elizabeth (Daniel) Beckley of Evergreen, CO, and Carrington Thompson of Wilmington, IL; son Robert (Sarah) Thompson of Huntington, VT; grandchildren, Abraham and Annabelle Thompson, Theodore and Katherine Beckley, and Rosemary and Norah Thompson; brothers, Bruce (Philip Rogers) Thompson of Pine Mountain, GA, and John (Debra Palmizio) Thompson of North Chelmsford, MA; and nephew Daniel Thompson of North Chelmsford, MA. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Robert A. Thompson. A memorial is being planned for the fall in Chicago. Contributions may be made in memory of Ken to Trinity Foundation, which supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, 301 Veterans Parkway, New Lenox, IL 60451, https://www.trinityservices.org/donate.