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Myron J. (Mike) Thompson
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Myron J. (Mike) Thompson
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His memories of police work always reflected
the humor he saw in his daily activities. One of the events
he related periodically, laughing each time,
involved a man that kept rattle snakes for
making hat bands. It became necessary to
remove the snakes from where they were being
kept. While they were being transferred into
a box, he and another officer were watching when a puppy came up behind the officer and
nipped at his pant leg. Mike burst out laughing
every time he told how the officer "jumped
straight up two feet and landed about six
feet away"
He loved his family tremendously and never
failed to tell them all, individually and
collectively, how much he loved them. He
made friends easily and had a great sense
of humor and loved to tease people. He revered
his mother and always spoke very highly of
her and the things he learned from her. He
lived the essence of the teachings of Christ
throughout his life as a result of her faith
and the faith she inspired in him. Even though
his hearing was nearly gone in his last few
years his sense of humor never left him and
he would joke or tease those around him including
those that cared for him in the hospital
and the nursing home after his last surgery.
Serious illness had threatened his life on
several occasions, but he treasured life
and valiantly fought until the very end,
not wanting to leave his family
He was interested and involved with the lives
of his children and proud of them and all
his grandchildren. Even as much love as he expressed consistently
to each of his children they were all aware
that first and foremost was the love he had
for his wife Verola. They were married 62
years ago in May of 2001
He also cared very much for the public that
he served . Even the kids he took into custody
have expressed fond memories of him and how
well he treated them. One example o f this
as told by his son occurred about the time
his son was visiting Mike at the office during
one of his infrequent leaves home from the
army. Mike was on his way to arrest an individual
on an outstanding warrant and asked Leon if he wanted to ride with him to make the
arrest. On the way y, Mike told Leon that this particular
individual always required several officers
to surround the house in order to cover all
exits, then one or two officers would have
to go in the house, wrestle the man to the
ground and handcuff him, at which point this
individual would suddenly become very docile
and friendly. Leon recognized the individuals name as a classmate
he had graduated with a couple of years earlier. Sure enough, The house was surrounded, Mike
went into the house with another officer
and wrestled the man to the ground then handcuffed
him. On the way back to the station Leon and the now subdued fugitive were talking
about how their lives were going. (It was
pretty obvious at this point that one was
doing a little better than the other! ) During
the conversation Mike was still joking with
the man even after having to arrest him. After all that had transpired during the
arrest, this man still expressed his respect
for Mike and said that Mike always treated
him fairly and respectfully.
Mike had a quick wit and could see humor
in almost any situation so always had a quip
to fit the circumstances . It seemed he had
an endless repertoire of sayings that he
learned in his youth, and seldom used the
same one twice.
He enjoyed raising farm animals and at various times raised cattle, goats, rabbits, pheasants and even guinea fowl, which he finally got rid of because of the racket they made when people came onto their property. He enjoyed having pictures around him of animals and nature. He practiced animal husbandry the way he learned it in Idaho when he was young, and used many of the remedies that would be considered natural medicine' today. He enjoyed cooking and smoking meat and fish. His family loved the jerky he made but were never quite successful in getting him to tell them the secret of his success. A family favorite was the sourdough bread and especially the pancakes he made and served whenever they visited. One grandchild even stuffed her pockets with the leftover pancakes when she went out to play so she could eat them later.
He enjoyed watching National Geographic documentaries
, comedies, rodeo competitions, and police
shows. In his spare time he enjoyed fishing
in the streams outside of town and could
always catch something when no one else was
even getting a nibble. He'd just walk down
the river a ways and soon you'd see him pulling
in one fish after another.
He daily expressed his love for his wife
Verola whom he loved and cherished. He often
expressed his love for her to his children,
setting an example in a world that sees such
devotion less frequently these days. His
spirit was gentle, kind, and loving.
Those who knew Mike, knew him as a man of
great integrity and faith -- a husband, a
father and grandfather, and a leader endowed with gentleness, respectfulness,
and humor. These would be the traits that
he would want people to remember about him.
Myron [Mike] J Thompson passed away Thursday, September 6, 2001. He was buried September 11th, the day of
the attacks on the New York Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the American Airline
flying over Pennsylvania. He was 82 years old. He was born January 10, 1919 in Downey, Idaho to John Edwin Thompson and Nancy Elvira
Christensen. He married Verola Pitzer in
Burley, Idaho in n 1939. The family moved to Prineville
in 1955 where he worked for 23 years for
the Prineville Police Department - nearly
all of which of which he served as Chief
of Police until l his retirement in 1978.