Opal Thompson

Opal A. Thompson, 97, of Fountain Hills passed away on Feb. 5, 2019 of natural causes. She was born near Lexington, Ky. in Woodford County on Aug. 8, 1921. She moved to Fountain Hills in 1978. She resided at Fountain View Village for over 15 years.

She graduated from Versailles High School in 1937 and later attended a private business school.

She worked for the Atomic Energy Commission in Ohio and for the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C.

She had a busy retirement in Fountain Hills. She was a charter member of the Methodist Church where she was active in both the choir and bell choir. She also sang with the Community Chorus for many years. Opal was a charter member and President of the Desert Pride Lioness Club. She joined the Fountain Hills Lions Club in 1998 and was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, and served as secretary for four years.

She learned to paint china from her neighbor, Jerry Bolton. She joined the Porcelain Artists of Arizona and served as president. She became an accomplished stained glass artist and helped run “Charlie’s Stained Glass” shop out of their home in Fountain Hills.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter Scott and Maudie B. Anderson; her brother, William Raymon Anderson; her husbands, Guy E. Tuggle, Charles J. Chidester “Chid” and Charles B. Thompson “Charlie;” her stepsons, James C. Chidester and William J. Chidester; and her step-grandson, Birl O. Shultz.

She is survived by her five stepchildren, Mary K. Chidester (Lawrence) of Virginia Beach, Va., Eileen J. Chidester Covert of N. Chesterfield, Va., Charles Hugh Thompson of El Dorado Hills, Calif., Carolyn Thompson-Rizer of Carlton, Ore., and Marilyn K. (Thompson) Shultz of Carlton, Ore.

Opal had no children of her own but she was the loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother to a family of nearly 60 members. She brought grace and beauty into all of our lives. In every heart she touched, in every thought she inspired, her love lives on. Opal enriched the lives of everyone who knew her. She will not be forgotten.

A memorial service will be held in the Town Square at Fountain View Village (16445 E. Avenue of the Fountains) on Saturday, March 23 at 11 a.m.

A second memorial will be held on March 30 with her East Coast family members and she will be laid to rest in Mount Comfort Cemetery, in Alexandria, Va.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association donatenow.heart.org 1-800-242-8721.