Ron was born on January 11, 1942, in Cutbank, Montana and spent his formative years raised on the family farm in Arnegard, North Dakota. He played basketball, baseball, and football for the Arnegard Spuds high school teams and played cornet in the band. After high school, he attended North Dakota State University in Fargo and was a member of the engineering fraternity. He came home for one year in the middle of his college years to tend to the farm and the family business, Bud’s Pump Service and Water Well Drilling, after his dad suffered a heart attack.

Shortly after Ron graduated from NDSU, he joined the Forest Service. Ron worked 27 years as an engineer for the Forest Service in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, finally retiring in 1993 and moved back to North Dakota, where his heart always stayed. His hobbies included fishing, bowling and cribbage as well as working on whatever unique project his engineering mind had him doing, whether it was woodworking, furniture building, fixing up old cars or coming up with solutions and new tools for the pump repair business.

Ron passed away December 12, 2023, at his home in Rawson, North Dakota.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Lloyd “Bud” Thompson and Janet “Jenny” (Lee) Thompson; 2 wives Ava (Green) Thompson and Arlene (Hubbert) Thompson; and 1 great grandchild, Cameron Hartrick.

He is survived by his 3 siblings Sharon Whited, Roger Thompson and Janet Erhardt; his 5 children Cory Thompson of Auburn, Washington, Angie Karnes of Rainier, Washington, Jared Green of Bend, Oregon, Cherie Davis of Lakeview, Oregon and Douglas Green of Rawson, North Dakota, who stayed by his side for the final years of his life; and 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Thank You