James Thompson Sr. - Submitted for the USGenWeb by Richard P. Sevier 3/17/07 USGenWeb NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities, when written permission is obtained from the contributor, so long as all notices and submitter information are included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. ************************************************ James Thompson Sr. - Madison Parish, Louisiana From Vallejo (CA) Times-Herald, March 12, 2007 James Thompson Sr., 79, of Vallejo, died March 6 at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Vallejo. James was born on September 12, 1927, in Madison Parish, Louisiana. He was the eighth child born to Lafayette and Pearl Thompson. He was raised in the loving home of his parents, with eight brothers and three sisters. He attended local schools through 1941 and then did farm labor, or share cropping, and determined there must be a better life. In 1944 James and his sister Daisy followed, his sisters and brothers-in-laws Susie and Jesse Tillmon, and Hazel and Rudolf Hodges to Vallejo, CA. All had found work during the World War II boom in Northern California and had sent word of the job opportunities home to their families in Tallulah. They had all escaped the discrimination and dead-end share cropping system of the South. For a while James worked in local construction, for the railroad, and on the preparation and construction of the dam at Lake Berryessa. After a payday one Friday, James noticed Ernestine Williams in downtown Vallejo. A friend introduced them, they courted for a couple of years, and were married on February 28, 1950 in Vallejo. To this union three children were born, Phyllis Yvette, James, Jr. and Carey William. James was employed at Mare Island Shipyard for 38 years, retiring in 1985. He was blessed with good and steady work for much of his life, and was doubly blessed with a long and well deserved retirement. He and his family joined Second Baptist Church in 1957 under the leadership of Rev. Haley James. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, Firma Lodge, No. 27, F. &A.M. Services will be at 11 a.m. today in Second Baptist Church, Vallejo. Burial will be in Skyview Memorial Lawn, Vallejo.