Louis N. Thompson

Louis Nathaniel Thompson was born on September 3, 1932 to Joseph Thompson and Lottie Gilliard Thompson in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1949 he joined the Air Force and was stationed in England. Louis left the Air force after five years of service and moved to New York City. While in New York, Louis attended New York University and later joined the Army. While he was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC he graduated from Campbell College. Louis excelled as a medical specialist in the army, and in 1977 he graduated from the Physician Assistant program at the Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In 1980, Louis served a second term in Korea where he met and married Yuncha Hwang. In 1982 Louis and Yuncha moved to El Paso, Texas and made it their home. They were faithful members of Cielo Vista Church in El Paso. After 28 years of military service, Louis retired as a physician assistant from William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Ft Bliss, Texas. He retired as Chief Warrant Officer 4. The first fifteen years after retirement from the military, Louis worked part time in his own business providing insurance and securities services to families in Texas, Arizona, California and Nevada. Louis and Yuncha also owned a beautiful gift shop in downtown El Paso near the border. Louis was talented in many ways. He was fluent in several languages to include Spanish, German and Korean. He was an interpreter for the army during his tour in Augsburg, Germany. Academically he excelled and graduated top student in his military courses. He was a natural athlete excelling in sports such as bowling, judo, boxing, and running marathons; often winning the “over forty” competition. Louis boxed light-weight in the army, but also had a sense of humor. He loved to entertain his daughters with many stories of how beat Joe Louis in the boxing ring! He was a self-taught photographer, and gifted with color schemes and landscaping. In 1979 he captured beautiful images of the solar eclipse which were sold to National Geographic Magazine. Louis loved decorating at Christmas using elaborate and beautiful lighting schemes and won many post-wide Christmas decorating competitions. At their place of residence, Louis worked for many years on his fish pond. His finished work resulted in a beautiful lighted pond with a two-tier waterfall surrounded by a meticulously decorated flower garden. Up to the age of 84, Louis maintained a very active lifestyle. He and Yuncha enjoyed traveling across the United States making surprise visits with friends and family. He constantly worked to beautify their yard, and walked several miles per day. Unfortunately, in September of 2016 he suffered a severe heat stroke. He regained enough strength to return home, but over a period of time, his health continued to decline. He was admitted to Ambrosia Veteran’s Nursing Home on his 88th birthday this past September and transitioned on December 31st, 2020. Louis is survived by his devoted wife Yuncha; two daughters, Sharon Dunbar (Larry) of Augusta, GA and Sonya Thompson, Atlanta GA; one brother, Earnest Thompson (O’della), Athens GA ; one granddaughter, Adrienne Waters (Damian), Washington, DC and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.