Joseph Paul Thompson Jr.

J. Paul Thompson, Jr. was born November 29, 1933, to Joseph and Martha Thompson in Lansing, Michigan. As soon as he was old enough, he became a newspaper carrier. He graduated from J.W. Sexton High School in 1951 and from Michigan State College in 1955. That was the year MSC became MSU, so graduates that year waited several months for diplomas that read “Michigan State University”.  Paul was enrolled in Air Force ROTC and later served in active and reserve duty.

On June 18, 1955, he married Linda J. Fishbeck, whose parents had been customers on his paper route.  After college he worked briefly with the State of Michigan Highway Department, and then joined his father-in-law Ken Fishbeck’s engineering business. The business flourished, Paul became a named partner, and eventually the company, Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr, and Huber—now known as Fishbeck—grew to its present state with over 500 employees.

In 1967, the family purchased a lot on Lake Michigan where Paul built a summer home, which he expanded and improved numerous times. He instituted a four-day workweek at his company so that all employees could enjoy three-day weekends in the summer. Paul took full advantage of this benefit and spent the extra day doing cottage chores while in the company of family members.

Paul was an active member of every community he lived in—Lansing, Little Point Sable and Rancho Bernardo, CA. He was a member of Rotary Club, Lions Club, and churches in all three places. Paul also served on Lansing’s Demolition Board.

Physical fitness was important to Paul: he enjoyed tennis into his senior years, and daily walks were part of his routine for most of his adult life. He taught his daughters how to play basketball, swim and how to bat a ball. It was a point of pride to Paul that he and Linda attended every high school and college graduation of his children and grandchildren.

Paul loved to travel, following his mother who was an intrepid traveler into her 80’s. He and Linda traveled the world with many friends and imparted their love of travel to their grandchildren. Each grandchild joined them on a grandparent trip when they were 10 and then again when they graduated from high school, exploring Hawaii, Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, the Four Corners, Scandinavia, the British Isles, the Galapagos Islands, and the Mediterranean. Paul was always at the ready to record the moments with his trusty camera.

He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2014 and lived with minimal difficulties until July 2022. He died peacefully on August 1, 2022, at his beloved lakeside home. He is survived by: his wife Linda; his daughters Karen (David Dolloff) Thompson of Pacifica, CA; Kristen (Bruce) Callen, of Lansing, MI; and Kathy (Michael) MacLaren of Lansing, MI; his Dutch daughter Leontien Tiddens; his grandchildren, Natalie and Christopher Dolloff; Abigail, Elizabeth, and Emily Callen (Tim Roark); and Caroline and Suzanne MacLaren; brother Kenneth (Nancy) Thompson and sister Marlene Cenci.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 27, at 3:30 pm at the Stone Church at Little Point Sable Association, Shelby, MI. A gathering in Lansing, MI, will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to Memorial Nature Preserve, mailed to Marilyn Johnson, 749 S. Glen Road, Shelby, MI 49455.

A memorial gathering will be held at Central United Methodist Church, 215 N Capitol Ave, Lansing, MI 48933,  Sunday, September 11, from 1-3 pm, with a sharing of memories at 2 pm. 

The Harris Funeral Home, in Shelby, is assisting with arrangements.

www.harrisfhome.com

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