Willard Thompson

Willard Thompson age 91 went to his Heavenly home Friday, December 3, 2021. As the sun rose in the eastern blue sky my precious daddy took his final steps to meet his Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus took his hand and led him into his eternal life he had been longing to go.



Daddy was born June 21,1930 to Luther H. Thompson and Ina Ruth Minnis Thompson. He was born sixth into a family of eleven children in the Georgetown area of Cleveland. He grew up in his early years running the banks of Bigsby Creek with his siblings. He told great stories of his childhood there and we have in the latter years taken many drives to Bigsby Creek to wander through memories of his childhood that I will never forget. Later in his teenage years his family moved to the Taylors community where he met and fell in love with my mom, Edna Ruth Harrison. They were married on June 27, 1948 this marriage lasted until my mom passed away June 3, 2021. Friday morning six months to the day they were reunited to continue life together for eternity.



During his early adult life he worked for Bob Jones college and spent some time working for General Motors in Detroit, MI. However his heart was here in Bradley County. He came back to the Taylors Community and began building his own business, Willard Thompson Body Shop and Used Cars. At the time of his retirement he had held his dealership license longer than any other dealer in the State of Tennessee. For him it wasn't just a job or business it was what he knew how to do and loved doing it. He was an amazing talented man who used his hands to rebuild vehicles to be on the road again. Most importantly he shaped the lives of many young boys by teaching them how their bicycles worked and how to repair them when things happened to them. He taught them to be self-sufficient. Those same young boys would one day work for him in his garage learning how to repair and build cars. He could not pay them much but the knowledge they gained from him was priceless. He did the same for his two sons and for me.



He also built his own Piper Cub airplane and learned to fly, oh now those were fun times in that plane and of course he loved to barrel roll and scare you but it was an amazing experience. You see, my dad never wanted to be the rich man he gave away more than he kept, instead he wanted to share what God had blessed him with and to be a loving husband to my mom and an amazing dad to me and my brothers, and he was all of those things and more. There is not enough space to tell about his incredible life but know he never skipped a beat of life, hardship, injuries and recoveries with God"s Miracles. He was an amazing man.



He was preceded in his death by his parents, Luther and Ina Thompson, his loving wife Edna Ruth Thompson, his two sons, Garry "Hub" Thompson and Mark Thompson. Preceded by his siblings; Betty Brown, Bernice Harris, Robbie Dean Frazier, Janice Thompson infant sister, Jane Harris, Cecil Thompson, Glen Thompson, Alvin Thompson and Frederick Thompson.



My daddy is survived by his one and only daughter, Patricia West and I loved him beyond measure, he was my protector in life and I always knew he loved me beyond words. I am sad he is not here with me any longer but I know when he breathed his last breath here he took his next in Heaven. He is survived by his son in love Ralph West who my daddy loved and respected as his own son and the love Ralph had for my dad was abundant, you see he was one of those young boys to young men my dad taught so many things. He is also survived by two daughters in love who loved him greatly, Lisa Thompson and Tess Thompson.

God blessed him with eight grandchildren, Michael Finnell (Jenni), Aaron Finnell (Vicki), Brittany Hooper (Lamar), Garrett Thompson, Grayson Thompson, Reese Finnell, Kristyn Buckner and Michele Arnold. He is also survived by twelve great grandchildren who loved him and his childhood stories so much. He is also survived by his last living sibling, Billy Joe Thompson(Wanda).



Pallbearers will be grandchildren and great grandchildren.