ROBERT LEE THOMPSON JR.

Robert Lee Thompson Jr., 77, a farmer and craftsman who lived in Holmes County for most of his life, died peacefully January 31, 2022 at Martha Coker Green Houses in Yazoo City. He was a member of First United Methodist Church in Yazoo City. Services were held on Friday, February 4, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at First Methodist Church in Yazoo City, Mississippi, with visitation preceding at 1:00 p.m. Arrangements are by Stricklin-King Funeral Home of Yazoo City. Masks are encouraged during visitation and the service.
Known to family and friends as “Bobby T.,” he was born in Vicksburg on Jan. 12, 1945, the eldest child of Robert Lee Thompson Sr. and Mary Stigler Thompson. During his first months, he lived in Yazoo City with his mother and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Stigler, while his father served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, the family moved first to the Holmes County farm known as Maryland near Thornton and in 1954 to nearby Pluto. Growing up, the country offered Bobby T. myriad pleasures and adventures: horseback riding, camping, hunting, water skiing and swimming in the Pluto pool. Many of his friends enjoyed coming out to his home to enjoy those activities with him.
He graduated from Yazoo City High School in 1963 and received his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from Mississippi State University in 1967. He joined the family farming operation at Pluto as manager, growing cotton and soybeans. He served 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserve in the 173rd Quartermaster Petroleum Company in Greenwood, achieving the rank of E-7 Sergeant First Class, and was honorably discharged. With the exception of military service in 1968 and 1969, during which he was stationed in Germany, Bobby T. lived most of his life on Pluto, a place very close to his heart. He enjoyed life, and from his high school days was known for throwing a good party.
In 1995, he was gravely injured in a vehicle accident that resulted in leg and lower body paralysis. This life-changing event brought commitment to his spiritual life, and he came to know his Savior, Jesus Christ. An artist from his youth, Bobby T. began to create wooden carvings, mostly small crosses. He was prolific, crafting more than 2,000 objects from wood, antlers and metals. His crosses and other beautiful art pieces are well-known locally and beyond. Many of his pieces have been a source of inspiration and solace to the people he knew. He was a member of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi for a short period.
He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Lee Thompson Sr. He is survived by his mother, Mary Stigler Thompson of Pluto; children, Olivia Thompson Walker (David) of Madison, Robert Lee Thompson III (Kelley) of Vaughan, Bryan Keith Thompson (Audrey) of Gluckstadt, and John Robert Thompson of Lexington; and grandchildren, Charles Robert Thompson of Vaughan and Endymion Thompson of Gluckstadt. He also is survived by his sisters, Laurie Thompson Metcalfe (Leslie) of Madison and Susan Thompson Champlin (Byron) of Concord, N.H., and his brothers, William Michael Thompson (Susan) of Madison and Louis Stigler Thompson (Cathy) of Pluto; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and cousins.
Burial was in Glenwood Cemetery in Yazoo City. Pallbearers were Michael Foose, Ben Holland, Joseph Newton Jr., Charlie Thompson, Michael Thompson and David Walker.
The family expresses heartfelt appreciation to the “Loaves and Fishes” ladies at First Methodist Church and the caregivers who assisted Bobby T. This gratitude is extended most especially to Helen Malone; staff members of Southern Home Care – Jessica Bennett, Mavis Hudson and JoAnn Pigg; and staff members of the Luse House at Martha Coker Green Houses.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Methodist Church, 203 North Washington Street, Yazoo City, MS. Telephone (662) 746-7648. FUMCYazoo.org.