Donald THOMPSON

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THOMPSON: Donald “Ross” Thompson passed away peacefully at the age of 56 with family by his side at the Assiniboine Centre in Brandon on July 9, 2012 after a short battle with cancer. Ross leaves to cherish his memory his wife Jacquie, sons Matthew (Loni), grandchildren Emmalie, Aidan and Ava, Stephen (Jen), Patrick and daughter Melanie. He also leaves behind brothers Lee Sawle (Pat), Doug Sawle (Bonnie), David (Merv) and in-laws Marie Roy, Rose-Anne and Joe Carney, Juliette and Ron Popplestone and Damien Roy. There are also numerous nieces and nephews who were very special to him. He was predeceased by his parents Bill and Meg Thompson and father- in-law Edgar Roy. Ross was born in Brandon and raised on the family farm in Elton Municipality. He attended school at Forest Elementary, high school at Elton Collegiate and studied at Brandon University. He met Jacquie in December 1978 and they were married 2 years later. He started his career with the City of Brandon shortly after, working his way up to Supervisor in underground utilities and retiring in 2009 after 28 years of service. He spent much of his holiday time during these years training or on exercise working as a Reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces. In 1976, Ross enrolled with the 26th Field Artillery Regiment, served for 2 1/2 years and re-enrolled in 1983 achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2006 to serve for five years as Commanding Officer of 38 Artillery Tactical Group. He was involved in several multi-national training events over the years which included working with the American National Guard in Minnesota and participating as a member of the Canadian Mentoring team in Lviv, Ukraine in 2010. Ross was especially proud to be involved as a company commander supporting the province of BC fire fighting efforts in 2003 and to work as Deputy Director of Artillery Heritage in 2010. At the onset of his illness in December, Ross was working in Ottawa and assisting in coordinating the transportation of the KAF Cenotaph in Afghanistan back to Canada. He persevered through his pain to finish his work there and immediately returned home in January when he was diagnosed with cancer. He battled through chemotherapy and remained optimistic throughout his treatments. Ross grew up with a great love of all sports which he passed on to his children. He coached many of their teams in their younger years and was a very committed parent and spectator. He was quick to volunteer and help others when he could and was always at ease with people from many walks of life. Though he juggled two careers his family life was his priority and his proudest moments always involved those near and dear to him. He was an unforgettable character and he will be missed greatly. A service to celebrate Ross’ life was held on Monday, July 16th at Central United Church. The family would like to extend their appreciation to the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff at Cancer Care Brandon and the Palliative Care Unit at the Assiniboine Centre for their exceptional care and compassion. “Though absent you are very near,still loved, still missed and very dear.”

As published in Brandon Sun on Jul 21, 2012