Ace of Trades: Funeral home director Tim Thompson followed in his father's footsteps
WHITE COTTAGE – He’s spent (almost) his entire life in the village of White Cottage. In fact, he lives about a hundred yards from the house he grew up in, and he’s about that distance from his business – William Thompson and Son Funeral Home.
He’s the son: Tim Thompson.
“I’m the man in charge here,” he said. “I have some part-time help who assist me with funerals and visitations but I’m the funeral director, embalmer, arrangement director, office manager and lawn maintenance man.”
Now 57, Thompson graduated from Maysville High School in 1982, earned a biology degree from Muskingum in 1986, then graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1987. He did his apprenticeship under his father, G. William Thompson, passed his state and national board exams and began working with his dad.
“I never had another career path,” he noted. “I started here full time in the fall of 1987.”
Thompson worked with his father for years. William Thompson passed away in 2014.
“I was fortunate to work with my dad for 27 years,” he said. “He was very devoted to his work and emphasized the personal nature of the business and going the extra mile to carry out the wishes of the families we served. Growing up, I knew what it entailed.
“I enjoy what I do,” Thompson added. “When a family requests my services, they’re entrusting their loved one to my care. A lot of responsibility goes along with that. And if I meet the needs of the family, then at the end of the day I can say I made a positive contribution.”
“Tim is a hard worker,” assessed Tim Humphrey, co-owner of the J. E. Humphrey Funeral Home in Shawnee. “And I must say he goes above and beyond when it comes to the funeral home. He’s an old school funeral director who was taught the families he serves comes first. He always tries to make sure he does all he can to make a terrible time in their lives more bearable.”
“This is a helping and caring profession,” Thompson responded. “Empathy is important in this business. I’m seeing more deaths in the younger population due to overdoses and COVID-19. I get emotionally attached to the families I serve.
“I’ve been very blessed with my life journey,” he concluded. “Time marches on very quickly. It’s too bad we can’t hit the pause button.”
William Thompson and Son Funeral Home is located at 5765 Gladstone Drive in White Cottage. For more information, call 740-849-2323 or log on www.williamthompsonandsonfuneralhome.com.
About the series
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at trnews@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Tim Thompson followed in his fathers footsteps in the funeral business
