Robert Lee Thompson

Funeral Service Live Stream Link Below:
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Robert Lee Thompson,78, was born to the late Hannah Marie and John Carter Thompson on April 15, 1946, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Bob was proud of his roots and always thought of himself as a country boy from Virginia. He confessed to the Lord at an early age and his faith was a pillar in his decision-making. He knew we were blessed in times of plenty and in times of lack. 

As a child, Bob played baseball and picked tomatoes as a teenage farmhand. His parents raised him in a loving family alongside cousins who became his siblings, Jyneal, Caul and Roy.

Bob was educated in the Northumberland County school system, graduating from A.T. Johnson High School, a segregated school, just a few years before Brown vs Board of Education. If he had to do it all again, he wouldn't change a thing about his early years because he always felt working on the farm built character! His grandchildren chuckled at his stories and were often speechless about his adventures walking to and from the Juke Joint as a young man.

After graduating from High School, Bob went on to serve as an Auto Mechanic in the United States Army. During the Vietnam War, Bob was sent to Germany as he was Hannah´s only biological son. After his Honorable Discharge in 1968, Bob came to Red Bank, NJ with his cousins and extended family. He worked at Lily Tulip Cup Factory and Garden State Parkway Maintenance Subcontracting alongside his cousins, Chris Harvey and Melvin Mitchell. He also worked part time at Yancy´s Neighborhood Bar and enjoyed bringing a smile to someone's day with a joke or anecdotal story. During his military and young adult years, his children Gerald, Pernell, Jennifer and Christopher were born.

With his cousins, Bob´s life was filled with laughter. Always a good card game, family gathering or a day at the racetrack. In 1973, while at Monmouth Park Racetrack, Bob met Stephanie Jordan who had also gone to see the races with her family. Bob had given Stephanie a few betting tips which won. That was the best bet of his life! On Father's Day, June 16, 1974, Stephanie and Bob were married. From this union, two children were born, Rhea Lovette and Raina LaShay. To this day, Rhea is Bob´s Secretary and Raina remains the youngest and most persuasive Babygirl. Shortly after their wedding, Bob began his career with National Lead and stayed with the company through many corporate mergers to its eventual establishment, Elementis Specialties. After 32 years of service as a Chemical Sample Distribution Specialist, Bob retired in 2006. During his retirement years, he enjoyed road trips to visit his children and family in Maryland and Virginia, a good day at the races with his Racetrack Buddies and running the concession stand inside the Asbury Park Train Station with his best bud, ride or die, Theodore Ted Johnson. We are most grateful for the Thompson-Savoy Family reunion held last summer. This experience was thoughtfully planned by the remaining cousins in the family and Bob couldn't have been happier to have five of his sensational six together to make their long overdue connection.

Bob leaves behind a host of family and friends to mourn his passing - His wife, four days shy of 50 years, Stephanie Thompson of Neptune, NJ. His children and their families - Raina & her son Uriah; Rhea (Rei-Shane) Perry & their children, Joshua, Reihana, Reishane and Reilynn; Christopher Lee Miller & his daughters, Keana, Jadah, & Raquel; Jennifer Perry & her children Tyana, Charlie, Danquavis and Danquante; Gerald (Felicia) Bailey & his children Cree, Tyriq, Andre, Andrew, A´mari, Serenity, Darius, Nevaeh, Xzariah, & Ziva; and Pernell Campbell & his children, Robert, Keont´A, Bianca, and Morgan. His great-grandchildren - Kaylen, Damani, Harmony, Zion, Adeia, Zamir, Lorenzo, Landyn, Elijah, Charlie, Roman, Ryder, Ayana, Zenay, Anye, Ji´onni, Princeton, Stormi, Luna, Nova, and baby Ny´year, born hours after Bob's passing.

He also leaves his brothers, Caul Edward (Janice) Thompson and Roy (Ruth) Tate, his sister, Jyneal (William) Treakle, his cousins, Katherine Ashton, Geraldine Brown, Stanley Eskridge, Patricia Middleton and Mary Thickening, his dear friend, Ted Johnson as well as a host of nieces, nephews, and friends.

He Gave Me a Rose

He gave me a rose, and I kissed it and pressed it.

I love him, he knows and my action confessed it.

He gave me a rose, and I kissed it and pressed it.

Ah, how my heart glows, could I ever have guessed it?

It is fair to suppose, that I might have repressed it:

He gave me a rose, and I kissed it and pressed it.

‘Twas a rhyme in life’s prose, that uplifted and blest it.

Man’s nature, who knows until love comes to test it?

He gave me a rose, and I kissed it and pressed it.

-adapted from Paul Laurence Dunbar

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