Robert Thompson

Robert “Bob” Thompson, born in 1932 in a sod hut on the Nebraska prairie, started life tougher than most. From the very beginning, he showed he could make something out of nothing — a theme that carried him all the way through. He grew up alongside his sister, Betty, who shared in the adventures of those early prairie days.

As a kid in northern Idaho, Bob’s mischief was memorable enough to earn him a cameo in Patrick McManus’s books — proof that he kept life entertaining for everyone around him. He married his first wife, Gail, and became father to daughter Cheryl and son Jim.

He served proudly in Korea, where he learned that Army food might actually be worse than growing up in a sod hut.

Bob eventually married Marlene — the woman adventurous enough to follow him to Alaska when the timber industry called his name. There, he started a new chapter and welcomed his daughter, Crystal.

He excelled at any pastime with a healthy dose of competitiveness. In Ketchikan, he won a custom pool cue he happily showed off to anyone within a 10-foot radius. Later, golf became his passion, and he took great delight in not one but two hole-in-ones at Linda Vista Golf Course — a stat he firmly believed should have earned him a green jacket.

Bob found a home at First Lutheran Church, where he collected friends like trophies — loyal, loving, and sometimes just trying to keep him out of trouble. The families who cared for him made his final years bright, full of laughter, and full of stories probably only half true (which are always the best kind).

Bob leaves behind a legacy of grit, humor, and pride in his country — and enough unforgettable one-liners to last his loved ones a lifetime. His family extends heartfelt thanks to the compassionate staff at Riverside Health and to his best friend, Richard, who kept him honest (or tried to).

He came from a sod hut and left this life with two hole-in-ones — not a bad scorecard.

Interment with full military honors will be rendered at 10:30 am on Friday, December 12, 2025 at the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery; followed by a funeral service and luncheon at the First Lutheran Church in Missoula, MT.