Glenn Harold Thompson, age 93, passed away September 9, 2026, at home after several months on hospice care. Visitation will be at 10:00 Monday, September 14, 2026, at Crestwood Memorial Funeral Home, with the service following at 11:00 in the chapel. No graveside services will be held. Pastor Chris Walker officiating. Pallbearers will be grandsons William Leach, Ian Lee Grimaldi, Alex Thompson, Stephen Leach; nephew Alan Thompson, and grandson-in-law Nate Blong.

Glenn was preceded in death by his wife of 51 years, Gail Alford Thompson; son and daughter-in-law, Brian Glenn Thompson and Cathy Hinson Thompson; parents Robert S. Thompson and Eunice (Ruth) Bolding Thompson; brother, Robert S. Thompson, Jr.; granddaughter-in-law Jennifer Thompson and infant great-grandson Lucas Jonathan Thompson.

He leaves to cherish his memory his wife of 18 years, Shirley Carol Thompson; daughters Debbie (Bill) Leach, and Cheryl Lee; grandchildren William (Kirsten) Leach, Katlyn (Nate) Blong, Ian Lee Grimaldi, Alex Thompson, Stephen Leach, and Serena Thompson; niece Linda Alexander and nephew Alan Thompson; stepchildren Ginger (Joe) Cash, Cecil (CT) Arrington, Hootie (Myra) Arrington, Andrea (Aaron) Gulledge, Alison (Hal) Ashmore; and step-grandchildren Courtney (Jack), Paige (Kenon) McKenzie, Lindsay Seagraves, Lauren (Jamon) Phillips, Haley (Ryan) Traub, Adam (Kellie) Arrington, Sandy Arrington and Leanne Arrington Neece, and a host of beloved great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Glenn was a friend to all and had a ready smile for anyone he met. He enjoyed a lifetime of close friendships into his 90s. Our legacy from him is a life of hearing “Your dad is a good man,” accompanied usually by a funny anecdote about him, from anyone who knew him.

He had an extremely strong work ethic and started working at age 12 as a paper boy delivering The Birmingham News in East Gadsden. He apparently excelled at this so much, he won a new bicycle for his paper route. He loved to talk about that! He worked at the A & P grocery in East Gadsden during high school. He was a graduate of the Class of 1951 of Gadsden High School, where he was voted Kingsman most of his school years.

Glenn was a member of The Goodyear Flying Club during high school, and he flew his first solo flight at the age of 18. He was a member of the Goodyear Scout Troop 58, and he was most proud of his hard-earned achievement of Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow Award. (He spent many later years involved in scouting with his son, Brian.)

He was a graduate of JSU in 1955 with a B. S. in Business Administration and Jones College in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1976 with a B. S. in Business Management.

Glenn was a veteran and served his country four years In the U. S. Army Reserves. He was honorably discharged as Sgt. 1st Class, E-6.

Upon his discharge from the Army, he went to work for Chrysler in the Missile Division. With Chrysler he was able to work and travel the world with his young family. He worked in Huntsville, Alabama, Taranto, Italy, Turkey, and at Cape Canaveral, where he worked during the heyday of the Saturn space launches. He took his family to watch many of the missile launches at the Cape, and they even got to meet the astronauts.

After leaving Chrysler, he went to work for Goodyear in 1969, working in Jacksonville, Florida, and then Gadsden, Alabama, where he was an area manager until his retirement in 1990.

But Glenn could not stay retired. He had to be busy at all times. So back to work he went at Ace Hardware in East Gadsden. He truly enjoyed meeting people and helping people. When Ace closed, he got his dream job working in the pro shop at Goodyear Golf Course, later named RiverTrace, until it was sold. Upon the closure of RiverTrace, he got a second dream job as Course Marshal at Silver Lakes Golf Club, where he enjoyed every single day of his “work” until he finally fully retired in his mid 80s. Riding the course in his “official” golf cart, talking with people, being outdoors, he always said it was the “best job I ever had.”

Glenn was always involved in church and civic organizations. He was a giver. He was a member of the East Gadsden Methodist Church, where he was a member of the Administrative Board, United Methodist Men, and the Brotherhood Sunday School Class. He was a member and past President of the East Gadsden Lion’s Club and looked forward every year to selling Christmas trees and seeing the joy it brought families.

Glenn was an avid golfer his entire life. He loved playing rounds with his son, grandchildren, friends and having his daughter along to keep score. He loved his yardwork; planting flowers, trees, vegetables and fruit. He and his wife Shirley Carol had a gift for gardening. He loved watching and feeding the birds. Glenn loved animals and had many special dogs in his life. His last pet, Bo, lived to be 17 and passed away just a couple of months prior to his own passing. He loved celebrating everyone’s birthdays and especially loved the cakes and cards that came with them.

But mainly, Glenn’s greatest love was his family. He loved all of his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. They were his true joy.

The family would like to give special thanks to Gentiva Hospice for all the help and support they have provided the past few months and also to the medics who helped so often.

Flowers are appreciated, but donations are encouraged to The Lions Club, The Etowah County Animal Shelter (or charity of your choice), or please plant a tree or flower or install a bird feeder for the winter in his honor.