James Lyle TOMPKINS Jr.

JUNE 18, 1945 - NOVEMBER 20, 2021

James (Jim) Lyle Tompkins Jr., 76, of Gilbert, Arizona, passed away Saturday, November 20, 2021 at Mercy Gilbert Hospital. He was surrounded by love as his went to meet his heavenly father.

Jim (aka Tom) was born June 18, 1945 in Dodge City Kansas to James Lyle Sr. and Carol Tompkins, but grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota.

He was a 1963 graduate of Bloomington High School and enlisted with the Naval Air Reserve the prior year.

He served in the US Navy during the Vietnam war and his last assignment location was at the Naval Air Station in Los Alamitos, CA. He graduated from Whitworth College in 1979 with a BA degree in Business Management and made a lifetime career with Boeing in mechanical engineering from 1979 until retirement. He had a love of aviation passed down from his father and shared with his brothers. He was one of the manufacturing engineers at Boeing, who helped design the original Apache and Longbow helicopters.

Jim had an infectious smile and was a man of action. He was known as the “fix it” guy to anyone who needed something done. In retirement he enjoyed spending time with his family, golfing with friends, traveling and building prop sets for East Valley Children's Theater. He was a member of the American Legion Post 39 in historic downtown Gilbert, AZ. He was of Lutheran faith.