Herbert W. Thompson May 9, 1947-December 6, 2025Herbert Whitney Thompson Jr. of Atlanta, GA, met Jesus in Heaven on December 6, 2025, after a lengthy battle with the behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Normal Pressure Hydrocephalous. He was born May 9, 1947, in Columbia, SC, to Virginia Ruth Poe Thompson and Herbert Whitney Thompson. He was raised by his mother and “Dad,” Angus Jack Cope, whom she married in December 1955.Herb graduated from Eau Claire High School in Columbia, and from the University of South Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree. He spent his career as a CPA in public accounting in Columbia, and later in banking in Atlanta, focused on lending. He loved walking on the beach at sunset, traveling, listening to music, rescuing animals, and spending time with his beloved family and pets. Herb is survived by his wife, Deborah, of 34 years; his children, Paul Thompson and Pam Best, and his “other son” Dale Gause; his grandchildren, Brittny Wilson, Nathan Best, and Blake Thompson; his great-granddaughters, Kaylyn Wilson and Sadie Wilson; his siblings, Patsy Allison, Lynne Cope Hummell, Pamela Thompson Chaussey, Shirley Cope, and John Thompson; and his nephews, Larry and Jack Livingston, Dale and Chris Gause, Houston Bowers, and Clark and Chandler Hummell. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Jackie Livingston, and his brother Reid Cope. A memorial service and interment will be held in early 2026 in Atlanta. Memorials may be made to St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church, Atlanta, GA (stmartins.org), Big Oak Ranch in Springville, AL (bigoak.org), or The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (theaftd.org).
