Philip Donald Thompson was born on March 27, 1931, in Post, Texas. He enjoyed almost every minute of the following 95 years and 75 days of his life, because of his good nature, love of people, creativity and sense of humor. He spoke with everyone he met and tried to make each encounter lift their spirits.<\/p>\n
Phil grew up in Plainview, TX, population under 9,000 in the 1930\u2019s. For those not familiar with Plainview\u2019s location, he would tease that it was just north of Idalou and to the east of Hereford. Phil loved growing up in this idyllic small town, attending Plainview High and Texas Tech in Lubbock. He thrived during his service in the U.S. Army, even had a good time in boot camp. He considered himself a smalltown boy and was thrilled to be stationed overseas, in Kitzingen, Germany. When he returned stateside, he used the G.I. Bill to attend the Institute for Foreign Trade in Glendale, AZ.<\/p>\n
Wherever Phil went, he made friends. One of his good friends from IFT invited him to join the family business in Chicago, and off Phil went, to work as Director of Marketing and Advertising at Hawk Model company. He found an opportunity there for his creativity to flourish, writing a newsletter that went out to young customers under the alias of Captain Hawk.<\/p>\n
Phil carried on his love of newsletters when he began working as a courtroom clerk for the Los Angeles Superior Court County Clerk\u2019s office, after the Hawk Model company was bought out and he moved to California. Through hard work, reaching out to help fellow employees, creativity and humor, Phil rose to the position of Director of Operations, overseeing the nine district courts in L.A. County. He served as President of the County Management Council and County Clerk\u2019s Association during that time. In his newsletters, Phil reported on day-to-day happenings of his staff, created faux contests with prizes provided by \u201cThe Unknown Benefactor\u201d and generally had a good time while creating fun for others.<\/p>\n
Photographing people was something Phil loved, and he was notorious in his family because a group picture or two was required at every family gathering. He would print out photos of people he knew through work or socially, and would give them copies, often to their delight.<\/p>\n
Phil was married twice, to Marie Taylor in his youth, and later, to Joyce Schneider. He and Marie had three children. He is survived by both wives, daughter Elizabeth Marie Glogowki and her husband Paul, son Philip Alexander Thompson, and daughter Kara Mia Waterman and her husband Peter. In addition, he cherished his five grandchildren and their spouses: Alyssa and Tyler Scott, Connor and Hailey Glogowski, Katherine and Kevin Steiner, Kennedy Waterman and Jack Waterman.<\/p>\n
To honor his memory, reach out to people you meet and try to find a way to make their lives a little better. And be sure to take a few pictures!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"