Myrl William Thompson's Obituary
Myrl William Thompson, born November 3, 1938, died peacefully on his 86th birthday (November 3, 2024) in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
Myrl was a tower of strength and an example of good conduct and hard work to all who loved and admired him.
In 1960, he graduated from the General Motors Institute with a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He enjoyed an illustrious career, starting as one of the first members of Oldsmobile’s computer programming team. He became a supervisor first for Oldsmobile, then for General Motors and then for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) where his long career in CAD/CAM engineering and earliest iterations of General Motor’s OnStar navigating system frequently took him abroad to Shanghai, Stockholm, Mexico City, and Berlin.
Midway through his career at General Motors, Myrl joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where he also spent many happy hours serving in various lay ministry positions, culminating in his service as the bishop of the Holt Ward from 1984 to 1989.
In 1996, he retired to the family farm his great grandparents homesteaded in Big Rapids. There he enjoyed serving others and helping to raise his grandchildren. In 2011, he was the ghost writer of the popular “Emma Bush” column in the Big Rapids Pioneer. He also published two children’s books, “Skinny Little Frog” and “Santa Does the Six Step” as well as one piece of historical fiction, “PT Boat 81: Still on Nightmare Patrol”, which is now held in the Library of Congress.
Myrl was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary Anne Jewett and is survived by his two children Juli Anne (Tony Dalton) and Joseph John Arthur Thompson and his ex-wife Elyse Forcier (Gonzalez) with her children Maria, Nicole, Lydia, Danielle, Mark, and Tony. He has 3 grandsons, Tyler Dalton (Amber), Kyle Dalton (Allison), and Ryan Dalton, and 2 great grandchildren, Dean and Harvey Dalton. He is also revered as a grandpa to several grandchildren on Elyse’s side of the family.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, November 9, 2024, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1325 Woodward Ave. in Big Rapids, MI. A viewing will take place at 9:30 a.m. until time of service at the church. Interment will be at the Martiny Township Cemetery in Martiny Township, Michigan. Care and arrangements are entrusted to the Mohnke Janowicz Funeral Home in Big Rapids.
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