Donald Thompson

Lt. Col. (Ret) Donald E. Thompson, USAR, peacefully went to heaven on 9 January 2018, in Yakima, WA, after a short illness. He was surrounded by his loving wife and family.
Donald was born 7 June 1931 in Elyria, Ohio, to Howard and Celia (Krebs) Thompson. He attended Elyria High School where he played center on the football team which later was inducted into the Ohio Football Hall of Fame.
Following high school, "Don" enlisted in the U.S. Air Force achieving the rank of 1st Sergeant.
He then transferred to the U.S. Army and started Officer Training. Upon being promoted to 1st Lieutenant, he began one of four tours of duty in Vietnam, between 1964 and 1969. During his 20 years of service in the U.S. Army, LTC Thompson was a member of the Special Forces, the Rangers and Army Paratroopers. He served as an Advisor to the Yakima Army National Guard unit and at the Yakima Firing Center. His final tour of duty was as the Commander of the Personnel Center, Fort Lewis, WA, before receiving an Honorable Discharge upon retiring in September 1972.
He was awarded the following medals during his service to our country: Senior Parachute Badge, Expert Infantry Badge - for Special Services Operations in Vietnam, National Defense Service Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Air Medal, Bronze Star Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Donald attended the Oklahoma Farrier College in 1972, and served the Yakima County community as a horseshoer. His next adventure was with the American Red Cross as a volunteer for Disaster Services. This lead to Don becoming the Director of the Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management. He served in this position for 15 years, retiring in 1989. He became a permanent member of the Yakima Marathon Support staff. Donald played hockey whenever he could - on the lakes in Elyria, OH, at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, and for many years in Yakima. He served as President of West Coast Amateur Hockey, coached and refereed numerous matches in Washington and was a personally invited by Charles Schulz (Peanuts) to referee at his over 60 Hockey tournaments.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Norma Moore Thompson; children Mike (Jeanie) Thompson of Maple Valley, WA, Shelly (Gene) Knight of Tacoma, WA, Laura (Jeff) Weinfurtner of Spokane, WA, and Donna (Kirby) Brown of Fort Leavenworth, KS, as well as 7 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren.
Public viewing will be held at Shaw and Sons funeral home at 201 North Second Street, Yakima, WA, on 15 January from 11 AM until 3 PM. Don will be interred at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA at 2 PM on 16 January.