Billy D. Thompson

It’s hard to believe it has been one year since we lost our beloved Billy D. Thompson. Bill passed away at age 88 on January 31, 2020, after a long battle with dementia. He is survived by his sister, Jean Winter, of Albuquerque; many nieces and nephews; his life partner, Bobbie F. McLaughlin, age 91, of Albuquerque; her three children; and a host of lifelong friends.

He was preceded by his parents; a 16-year-old great-granddaughter; and three siblings: Sue Baulch, Bobby Thompson, and Clyde Thompson, Jr.

Bill was born in Dacatur, Texas, to Clyde and Tillie Thompson. The family moved to Electra, Texas, when he was about 12. He was married to Barbara Nell Tippie.

After serving in the U.S. Navy at Guam for four years, Bill moved to Albuquerque to take a job as a high-voltage electrician with Sandia National Labs, a trade he learned from his father. In 1958, he bought a brand-new home in the Dale Bellamah neighborhood in the NE Heights and remained in that house for the next 63 years, remodeling it himself.

He retired from Sandia in 1993. In retirement, Bill enjoyed meeting his many friends from Sandia for coffee and breakfast at Garcia’s Restaurant once a month. He enjoyed photography and watching the Dallas Cowboys win. He loved animals and always had several dogs and/or cats. He especially loved his two Pomeranians, Bear and Whoopie. He and Bobbie adopted Ace, a rescue chihuahua, in 2012. Cremation has taken place.