Cover photo for Fletcher Thompson's Obituary
Fletcher Thompson Profile Photo
1921 Fletcher 2017

Fletcher Thompson

August 11, 1921 — December 17, 2017

Fletcher Dew Thompson of Spartanburg died on December 17, 2017. Born in Spotsylvania County, VA, on August 11, 1921, he was the youngest child of the late Charles H. and Jennie Lee Thompson, and the husband of Ruth DeLoache Thompson, whom he married in 1945. The couple met as students at the Textile Industrial Institute (TII), now Spartanburg Methodist College, and have maintained a lifelong commitment to the college. Mr. Thompson served on the Board of Trustees for 12 years. After graduation from TII in 1941, he went to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington, D.C., as a fingerprint classifier, while he continued his college studies at George Washington University. In 1944, Mr. Thompson was appointed an FBI Special Agent and assigned to the Washington, D.C. field office. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, then returned to the FBI in 1946 and resumed a career that spanned 33 years. He was assigned to offices in Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio (1949-55); Savannah, Georgia (1955-61); Washington, D.C. (1961-69); Mobile, Alabama (1969-70); and Omaha, Nebraska (1971-73), where he was in charge of FBI operations throughout Nebraska and Iowa. He also conducted inspections of FBI offices across the United States and abroad and served three tours of duty at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. There, in the 1960's, he supervised kidnaping, bank robbery, and other major criminal investigations. Immediately after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Special Agent Thompson was dispatched to Dallas, Texas, to prepare the first investigative report, which was a precursor to The Warren Commission Report. Mr. Thompson was appointed Assistant Director in 1973, heading the Identification Division - the Bureau's largest division - and served in that position until he retired in 1975. Mr. Thompson earned a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law and was a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Virginia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Following his retirement from the FBI, he returned to Spartanburg and began his private practice of law, becoming an early leader in the field of South Carolina adoption law and practice. Later joined by his son James Fletcher Thompson, together they participated in the placement of generations of children with adoptive families. In recent years, Mr. Thompson remained a trusted mentor and distinguished presence in the courtroom - most notably on the joyous occasions of a hearing before the family court when he appeared as counsel for many a family finalizing their adoption of a child. In 1999, he was named an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys in recognition of individual accomplishments that bring distinction to the Academy. In the inaugural year of the award, Mr. Thompson was recognized in Washington, D.C., with the Angel in Adoption award from the U.S. Congressional Coalition on Adoption. For more than 40 years, Mr. Thompson was a member of the Spartanburg Lions Club (past president and "Lion of the Year") and a member of Bethel United Methodist Church and its Loyalty Sunday School Class. In addition to his wife Ruth, he is survived by their four children and nine grandchildren: Jennie Lee Thompson and her husband Robert Levy of Washington, DC, and daughter Ariel Levy; Rebecca Lynn Thompson and her husband William H. Brent of Arlington, Va., and children James and Caroline Ruth Brent; Laurie Thompson Williams and her husband Joshua Williams of Knoxville, Tenn., and children Rachel, Jennie, and Noah Williams; and James Fletcher Thompson and his wife Mia Hodge Thompson of Spartanburg, and daughters West, Julia, and Kempson Thompson. He was predeceased by his sister Bradley and brothers Orville, Claude, and C.H. Thompson, Jr. He is survived by nephews Robert Thompson of Rehoboth Beach, DE, and Wayne and Bradley Thompson of Eugene, OR. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at Bethel United Methodist Church, 245 Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306, with Rev. Cameron Treece and Rev. Thurman Anderson officiating. The family will receive friends immediately after the service at the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Fletcher Thompson, 450 Webber Road, Spartanburg, SC 29307. Memorial contributions may be made to Spartanburg Methodist College for the Fletcher D. and Ruth DeLoache Thompson Scholarship Fund, 1000 Powell Mill Road, Spartanburg, SC 29301; Bethel United Methodist Church Endowment Fund, or the Spartanburg Lions Club, PO Box 647, Spartanburg, SC 29304. Floyd's North Church Street Chapel To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Fletcher D. Thompson please visit our Sympathy Store.

Memorial Service

DEC 19. 3:00 PM (EST)

Bethel United Methodist Church

245 S Church St

Spartanburg, SC 29306

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