Arthur Thompson, 74, formerly of Spring Lake, passed away on Monday, March 12, 2018. Arthur was, first and foremost, a husband and father. Although not the best reader, writer, or speaker, he WAS the best coach and teacher throughout our childhood. He taught us how to play every sport and never missed a game or practice. NEVER. He also taught us how to problem-solve and taught great household/life fix-it strategies. He truly was the original MacGyver.

In a life before family, he was a stock car mechanic at Wall Stadium. He was also an avid bowler (it is how he met our mother). That interest is now third-generation. Upon starting a family, he worked for Pepsi Co. until his retirement.

He loved his tv shows. Genres ranged from NASCAR to HGTV to Hallmark movies. He may have been the only man alive to have seen every episode of NCIS, NCIS LA, NCIS New Orleans, CSI, CSI Miami, and had he lived longer might have planned the perfect crime from all that research. He was a passionately disgruntled Yankees and Giants fan.

He developed crazy ways of saying things like college cheese, chimley, liberry, warsh, heighth, and “so forth and so on.” I guess we will never know if he was kidding or just didn’t know! He also had a knack for sleeping, but his true talent was for snoring. He could sleep through an air raid, but heaven help you if he heard you touch a button on the remote.

And while he loved Jessica’s meatloaf, truth be told, if you put enough peanut butter or ketchup on it, he’d have eaten shards of glass- except spaghetti. He hated that.

But mostly he loved his family. He was genuinely the best father any kid could hope to have. Deceased is his wife of 38 years, Dorothy Thompson. Surviving are David (Bunky) Thompson and his wife, Jessica; Helen (watermelon)Thompson and her husband, Brian; Jason (Murdoch) Thompson; Grace (Prettyface) Thompson; and Clair (Bear) Thompson-Martinez and her husband, Dan. He was the very proud PopPop to six grandchildren: Sean, Maggie, Kincaid, Alexis, Jack, and James.
Visitation will take place at O’Brien Funeral Home, Hwy. 35, Wall, on Friday, March 16, 2018, from 5-8 PM. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Catharine’s Church, Spring Lake, on Saturday, March 17th, at 10:30 AM, followed by burial of Arthur’s cremated remains at St. Catharine’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his name to St. Jude’s Hospital. Condolences may be sent via www.obrienfuneralhome.com

He’s in a better place now, and if you were to ask him, he’d say, “I’m not asleep, I’m just resting my eyes!”