THOMPSON, Otto Maurice (Mike)

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 07/23/2010 Otto Maurice "Mike" Thompson, 88, of Eagar died July 19, 2010, at La Casa Sereña. He was born Aug. 22, 1921, in Billings, Mont. to the late Thomas Christian and Marie Neilson Thompson, he worked on his family ranch and attended boarding school until enlisting in the US Army in 1942. Serving in Europe during WWII in the Army Air Corps as gunner, he earned nine bronze stars while participating in 24 missions, including surviving a B-24 bomber crash and spending time as a POW. He married Helen Virginia Fenton in 1947, a marriage that lasted for 63 years. He graduated from the University of Montana, Missoula with his Masters of Arts and Education degree in 1950. Moving his young family to Arizona in 1951, they built their own home while he worked as a high school teacher and college instructor. He joined the Mesa Police Department in 1955 where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant. During that time he also was an actor with the Mesa Little Theater, built a cabin in Pine, was elected Secretary of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, and delivered rural mail for the US Postal Service in his spare time. At age 45, Mike survived a stroke which changed the course of his and his family's life. No longer able to serve with the Mesa P.D., he taught community college courses in Casa Grande and high school at St. Johns, and then worked for the US Forest Service. An avid reader and writer his entire life, he volunteered at the Round Valley Public Library for 22 years. O.M. Thompson was a teacher, a thespian, a policeman, and a loving husband and father. He was a survivor who was knocked down repeatedly but always got back up. Throughout his life, his intelligence and keen wit delighted those who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Helen Virginia; daughter Christine Diane Schultz, Hamilton, Montana; sons Tyler Dane Thompson, Caballo, N.M. and Steven Neil Thompson of Scottsdale; brother James Neil Thompson, Indianapolis, Ind.; and grandchildren Lucas, Matthew and Josie Thompson and Chelsie Davidson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Round Valley Public Library in Eagar. A memorial gathering to honor Mike's life will be held Friday, July 23, at 10 a.m. at Burnham Mortuary in Eagar. Burnham Mortuary of Eagar handled arrangements. To send a condolence, visit www.burnhammortuary.com.