What I said for my Grampa’s Service

If you took out all the good times I had on campus going to the UW, I’d still be glad I came to Madison for those 4 years because of the time I was able to spend with Grampa. I especially looked forward to Sunday Dinners. I’d always rush to put away my church’s sound system to make sure I was on the road as soon as possible and would miss the least amount of time at Gramma and Grampa’s. And it was always great to chat with Grampa, because he knew a little about everything and a lot about the UW.

When I started taking Geology courses at the UW, he asked me if I knew Professor Brown. I said yes, and asked him how he knew Phil, the mining professor in the geo department. His answer was simple, they had taught a class together in Space Mining. He had written several papers about financing Missions to the moon to mine Helium. And it was cool to bridge the gap between our realms of knowledge in that way.

Besides Space Mining, I also loved to talk about history with him, an interest he passed down to my dad who passed it down to me. I remember fondly the trip all three of us took to Europe when I was ten to visit the battlefields of the Second World War and the time I was able to spend with Grampa on the trip. And he didn’t just know world history, he was also a rich source of Wisconsin and family history.  At a Sunday dinner, when I mentioned a volcanic eruption, he came back with a description of how that eruption was what drove the Thompson’s to the midwest, escaping the crop failures in New England.

And I didn’t just enjoy conversation with him in person. He had quite the Facebook presence and was always ready with a snappy comment. For example, last June, I posted what was obviously a posed photo for LinkedIn, of me wearing a hardhat and vest, writing on a clipboard, staring at a pole top. He commented, “Are you looking to see if the wires are still on the pole?” I’d often have friends come up to me and tell me how funny he was and not like the normal ‘old person on Facebook’ stereotype. Because that’s who Grampa was. Not just some old guy from Wisconsin, he was a smart, funny, kind, and interesting man

I’m thankful that I am Howard Thompson’s Grandson and for the 24 years I had with him.