James Rudolph Thompson
James Rudolph Thompson
James Rudolph Thompson was born to Rudolph Benjamin and
Minnie Rose Thompson in Mankato, Minnesota, on December 12, 1925. He died
December 18, 2012 at home, Valley View Independent Living, with his wife of 64
years at his side.
He attended K-12 in the Mankato school system. He was active
in football, basketball, track, tennis, and Scouting. His main interest was
playing music. He started playing in the kindergarten band. He played alto sax
through Junior and Senior high school. He played in the Minnesota State Guard
Band and five years in Swing Dance Bands, playing in Minnesota and neighboring
states. He also played the trumpet in the Boy Scouts and American Legion
Marching Drum & Bugle Corps. He was an Altar Boy serving Mass for many
years at St. Johns Catholic Church in Mankato. He served his country during
World War II, from 1943-1946, in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Chester, a
Heavy Cruiser, having assignments throughout the Pacific Ocean. Following the
war he attended Mankato State College, the University of Minnesota, and the
Minneapolis Business College. He went to work in 1950 in the Transportation
Dept of the Minnesota & Ontario Paper Co in Minneapolis. The company merged
with Boise Cascade Corp in 1965. He transferred to the Portland Oregon office
in 1967 and then to Boise ID in 1969. He retired from Boise Cascade after 36
years of service.
In 1942, Jim found his ‘One and Only’ high school
sweetheart, Lorraine Baxter. They were married on March 21
st
, 1948
in Minneapolis. He was a devoted father to three sons. He participated as a
Little League coach, Scoutmaster, PTA leader, and was involved in all their
activities. After moving to Boise he and Lorraine were members of King of Glory
Lutheran Church where he served on the council and various committees. He led a group that attended Boise Little
Theater for 27 years. He enjoyed spending winters in Mesa, AZ.
He is survived by his wife, Lorraine, sons Kevin (Karen)
(Emily and Tracy) Thompson of Peoria IL, Dan Thompson of Bellevue WA, Scott
Thompson (Shawna, Erika and Matthew) of Boise ID, and sister-in-law Dorothy
(Roger) French of Maple Grove MN.
At Jim’s request, no service will be held. Alden-Waggoner
will handle the cremation and his ashes will be placed in the Columbarium at
the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of James Rudolph Thompson, please visit our flower store.
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