| 02/20/10 10:24 AM |
#2679
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Carrol Reneau (Jeffers)
Donna Thompson Willbanks's father passed away this week. Please keep Donna and her family in your prayers.
Sanford Rodgers Thompson Sr.
Sanford Rodgers Thompson Sr., who was faithfully committed to the Lord, to his family and to community service, died February 18 in Lake Jackson. He was 88.
His life was marked by faithfulness in all things, and he influenced countless lives. He will be remembered as a dedicated husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was a loyal friend and a church elder who loved hard work and wry humor. He often greeted his friends and family with “A cheery good morning to you,” and he answered the phone with “You’re looking well.”
Sanford was born on April 1, 1921, in Quanah, Texas, the second child of Albert and Margaret “Jeffie” Rodgers Thompson. He was a Boy Scout and played in the Quanah High School band.
He attended Abilene Christian College on a band scholarship and earned a degree in chemistry. It was there he met Elizabeth Maurice Stratton while the two were cast in a student play. They married in 1940 and became one for the rest of their lives. After graduating from college that year, the couple moved to College Station, where Sanford began graduate work. When the country entered World War II in 1941, Sanford took a job with Dow Chemical and they moved to Freeport. Sanford and Elizabeth moved to Lake Jackson in 1961, where he lived until his death. He was a loyal and faithful Dow employee for 43 years.
Sanford was committed to the welfare of the Church. He served as an elder of the Freeport Church of Christ in the 1950s and later was a faithful elder at the Lake Jackson Church of Christ until the 1990s. He served as an elder for close to 40 years.
Sanford was known for his faithful community service. In Freeport, he served as chairman of the Freeport Town Council of the Girl Scouts and was active in the Freeport Lions Club, serving as president in 1952. In that role, was instrumental in the construction of Freeport’s Little League Ballfield. He was also active for many years with the United Way of Brazoria County, serving as B&A committee chairman in 1966 and 1979, South Zone chairman in 1977, president in 1984 and chairman of the board in 1985. He was recognized for his volunteer work on behalf of the Brazosport community, receiving the William D. Colegrove Award in 1994 from United Way. He was instrumental in securing land and a house for the treatment of those recovering from alcohol abuse.
He and Elizabeth, the love and joy of his life, traveled extensively, taking their Airstream all over the United States and enjoying international travel with their children and spouses. He delighted in dominoes and card games, playing with friends and family. He also was an avid gardener, growing roses, tomatoes and okra in his backyard garden. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren will remember his witty idioms, games of Mexican Train and the joy of his ever-present backyard tire swing.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Margaret Cross, a brother, Charles Thompson, and one great-grandson, Blake Redford Pybus.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; three children and their spouses, Sandra and Jack Pybus of Houston, Dr. Rodger and Beverly Thompson of Lake Jackson and Donna and John Willbanks of Colleyville; and a brother and his wife, Sydney and Marion Thompson of Amarillo.
He is survived by ten grandchildren and their spouses, David and Sara Pybus of Houston, Steven and Lisa Pybus of North Richland Hills, Kenneth and Amy Pybus of Abilene, Lacy and Dana Janssen of Brentwood, Tenn., Shelley and Don Vinson of San Marcus, Trey and Lauren Thompson of Fort Worth, Tra and Shelly Willbanks of Keller, Tara and Dwight Goodwin of Fort Worth, Matt and Alyson Booth of Dallas, and Abigail and Ryan Dunagan of Abilene.
He also is survived by 24 great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and lifelong friends.
Visitation will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lake Jackson Church of Christ.
Celebration service will take place at 2 p.m. Monday at the church building.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in his memory to Abilene Christian University or the Lake Jackson Church of Christ.
Published February 20, 2010
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