Richard Lee “Rich” Thompson, 62, of Elkins, left his earthly home Monday, October 28, 2024. His family rejoices knowing that he has joined his Lord and Savior along with a multitude of family and friends in his Heavenly Home.
Rich was united in marriage April 15, 1985 to the love of his life, the former Tammie E. Nelson, who survives in Elkins.
His memory will forever be embedded in the lives of his two daughters, Dr. Ashley L. Swecker (Matthew), of Elkins, and Dr. Erika L. Beckett (Zachary), of Fayetteville.
Just when Rich thought he could not be blessed more, he became “Grampy” to four grandsons, Gatlin Ridge Swecker, Elliot Thurmond Beckett, Logan Lee Beckett and Jackson Colt Swecker. His heart was overloaded with joy as he spent time with “his boys.”
Rich’s love of the outdoors and his mechanical prowess was soaked up by his grandsons as they sat in the cab and not only learned how to operate big equipment but also helped Grampy run big equipment. Multiple hours were spent in the cabs of Judy Fencecraft’s log truck, forklifts, excavators, bulldozers, skidsteers, wheel loaders and knucklebooms. Their trips with Grampy to his sawmill were the highlight of their adventures. Rich glowed when his daughters and grandsons were in his presence, and his biggest joy in life was spending time with the family God gave him.
Rich graduated from Elkins High School with the Class of 1980. He served as class president and was both a star athlete in baseball and football. He received the Outstanding Athlete Honor Certificate from John D. Rockeller, IV and was awarded a position to represent EHS in the 1980 North/South All Star Classic Football Game.
Rich continued his studies at both West Virginia Wesleyan College and Davis and Elkins College, and he went on to study what his heart truly desired and graduated as Valedictorian of his class at Vale Technical Diesel Mechanic Institute in Blaires-ville, Pennsylvania.
Rich returned to Elkins and joined his family’s lumber business, which changed his focus from trucking to the world of business which since dominated his career.
He spent multiple years assisting in the growth of Mongold Lumber Company, then multiple years helping to build the business of Tanner Lumber. Rich built a reputation as a leader and innovator in the hardwood lumber industry, and his business travels took him to every corner of the U.S. as well as to Germany, Italy, Canada, Belgium and Finland. His final stop in the business world was to become the proud owner and operator of Judy Fencecraft, Inc. which is a premier rustic split rail manufacturing facility in Bartow.
Rich was a member of Landmark Baptist Church in Elkins. For more than 20 years he proudly served as a member of the Board of Directors at Mountain Valley Bank in Elkins and spent his life serving multiple organizations in the communities where he lived and worked.
So appropriate that, in 1980, Rich received the “Ship of State” Certificate from Secretary of State A. James Manchin. He was awarded the Commission of Commodore to serve to keep constant vigilance over the cleanliness of West Virginia’s landscape in order to preserve the State’s inherent beauty and maintain the integrity. Rich has been a long-term member of the West Virginia Forestry Association as well as the West Virginia Farm Bureau, and he continued throughout his entire career to keep conservationism of utmost importance in everything he did. His desire to protect and manage natural resources for future generations was ever present in his daily life. He would tell you his happy place was spending time “in the woods.”
Rich was a dedicated Christian who served his Lord and Savior, and he was a proud citizen of the United States of America. He was an outdoor enthusiast, an awesome golfer, an avid hunter, a true marksman, and a lover of antique cars. Being a motorcycle enthusiast for most of his life, he was thrilled when he and Tammie were saddled up on their Harley Davidsons. Together, they logged several thousand miles per year enjoying the wind hitting their faces while riding not only the roads of beautiful West Virginia, but states up and down the Eastern U.S.
Rich is survived by his parents, Herman and Fay Thompson, of Elkins; siblings, Sheree Burlas and Kris Wilmoth; and a multitude of family and friends too numerous to mention.
Final Rites will be conducted at Landmark Baptist Church Elkins Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 1 p.m.
The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. until time of service.
The Reverend Doctor Ken Shiflet will officiate, and interment will follow at Mountain State Memorial Gardens at Gilman.
The Lohr Barb Funeral Home of Elkins has been given the honor to serve Rich as family and friends celebrate the unique and blessed life of Richard “Rich” Thompson.
