Ralph Taylor Thompson, passed away on June 11, 2026. He was born in Collinwood TN on September 6, 1934 to James and Annie Butler Thompson.
He was a 1952 graduate of Collinwood High School. After graduation, he joined the US Air Force and served honorably for 4 years. He married his high school sweetheart, Joy Barnett in 1956 and they would have been married 70 years on July 25.
They were blessed with two wonderful children, Charlotte Hill (Larry) and Anthony Thompson. The true joys of his life were his grandchildren, Laura Hill Ledgewood (Carter), Whitney Hill Coates (Ty), and Alena Carter and his great grandchildren, Cal Taylor Ledgewood, Lucy Collins Ledgewood and Cecily (CeCe) Chase Coates. He is also survived by his brother, Gene Thompson (Gladys) of Temperence, MI; brother in law, Joel Brewer of Eagle, ID , and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, Charles (Buster), Joel, Robert (Rod) and Florene.
Upon discharge from the Air Force, Ralph began his higher education journey at Florence State Teachers College. He received his B.S. degree in Science in 1960. He later on received a Masters and EdS degree from University of North Alabama. He would begin his long tenure of service to the Lauderdale County Board of Education at Central High School as the Jr. High football coach and then to Oakland Jr. High School as a science teacher and basketball coach. His basketball knowledge was vast and his basketball teams were outstanding. As Anthony once put it, “Okie boys, can’t be beat”.
After a brief stint as the county attendance officer, he returned to Oakland as the principal. With the threat that Oakland was going to be closed, the superintendent chose to send Ralph to Wilson.
It was a small struggling community school with about 700 students in K-12 when he arrived on campus in the fall of 1975.
What took place over the next 18 years was nothing short of a miracle. At the time of his retirement, Wilson had over 1400 students and was the largest school in the county. His vision for the school surpassed anything that anyone could have imagined.
He rolled up his sleeves and built a campus that everyone who attended or taught there could be proud of. He built something the community could also be proud of. It wasn’t unusual to see him in his dress shirt and tie picking up paper early in the morning before school. He expected his students and faculty to have pride in Wilson High School. He loved the legacy he built there. He was so humbled and honored when the football stadium was named after him.
No matter what setting we were in, there was always a former Wilson student there to help in anyway he needed.
After his retirement from Wilson, he continued to serve the education community of Lauderdale County as a school board member. As a school board member he earned the Alabama School Board Association Master school board member, Master Honor Roll and All State Board member. He served in that capacity for 18 years.
He served his community through the Central Heights Civitan Club. He served as president several times and definitely has the Lifetime award for most onions sold for Civitan scholarships. He didn’t ask you if you wanted to buy a bag, he ask how many bags did you want. Not many, if any, didn’t purchase at least 1 bag.
It is only fitting that his final walk in life will be at Wilson High School in the Bullard-Stejskal gymnasium The service will be Monday, June 15, 2026 with visitation from 1-3 and the service beginning at 3. Services will be conducted by Brother Alex Oberneder and John Mansell. Burial will follow at McGlamery Cemetery in Collinwood, TN.
Pallbearers will be Larry Hill, Carter Ledgewood, Ty Coates, Gary Hudson, Paul Parrish, and Blake Young.
Honorary pallbearers are Cal Taylor Ledgewood, Chuck Thompson, Brett Young, the players he coached at Central and Oakland, and all the students, staff, and faculties that he served at Oakland Jr. High School and Wilson High School.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations and memorials be made to the Thompson Scholarship Account that has been established in Joy and Ralph’s honor and memory.
Donations may be made at any First Southern Bank location.
The family wishes to thank Heather McClure at Gentiva Hospice for all her help in the last 4 weeks. The staff at
Mitchell-Hollingworth moved mountains this week to help when we needed. We appreciated that so much. We appreciate our caregivers, Kim, Callie, Martha, and Suzanne who have worked tirelessly to care for daddy and mother. We also want to thank everyone who sent cards, visited or called.
Daddy enjoyed reminiscing with you. Please keep our family in your prayers as we navigate life without our anchor.
