Ralph Everett Thompson

Ralph Everett Thompson, 89, of Cumming, died Saturday, October 20, 2012 at Northside Forsyth Hospital. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorcas McCleskey Thompson.

Funeral services, with military honors, will be held at 1 p.m., Tuesday, October 23, at Midway United Methodist Church chapel, Alpharetta, the Rev. Stacey Hanson and the Rev. Bud Sutton officiating. Entombment will be in Sawnee View Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends at Ingram Funeral Home on Sunday, from 2:00 pm until 8:00 pm, Monday from 1:00 pm until 8:00 pm and Tuesday from 9:00 am until hour of the service.

A native of Forsyth County, Mr. Thompson was retired from Southern Freight Association, where he was a corporate attorney. He also had worked for L&N Railroad in Atlanta.

He was graduated from Woodrow Wilson College of Law and passed the Georgia Bar Exam in 1967. He also attended Southern Business University and was a graduate of Cumming High School, class of '41.

A veteran of World War II, Mr. Thompson served in the infantry branch of the 6th Army under General Douglas MacArthur. Initially, he was stationed at Fort McPherson and later Memphis, TN, then was transferred to New Guinea in the South Pacific. He later was assigned to the Leyte Gulf as part of the Invasion Force to Japan. At the end of the war he was transferred to Yokohama in Japan.

Survivors include daughters Rebecca Sharon Thompson, Alpharetta; Rita Susan Thomas (Jim), Cumming; Linda Patrice Godby (Jerry), Cumming; grandsons Graham Thomas and Evin Godby, both of Cumming; sister Margean Haney (Dan), Alpharetta; sisters-in-law Martha Lou Burruss (Bob), Cumming; Vivian Hansard (Nathaniel), Alpharetta; brother-in-law, P.J. McCleskey (Nancy), Canton; and sisters-in-law Francis McCleskey and Wyolene McCleskey, both of Cumming; and a number of nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to Mrs. Thompson, he was preceded in death by an infant son, David; parents, Howard and Myrtie Stewart Thompson; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Pierce and Jessie Phillips McCleskey; and brother, Egbert Wesley Thompson.

Special thanks to Mr. Thompson's loving caregivers: Felecia Thompson and Toni Gilbert.

Ingram Funeral Home & Crematory, Cumming, Georgia is in charge of arrangements.

Condolences may be made at www.ingramfuneralhome.com.