Obituaries

Born April 9th, 1943, to parents Katie Ruth and Roy Lee Thompson, in Sherman Texas.
His parents took him home from the hospital to their family dairy farm to join his brother Jim, age 3.

As a child Richard worked with the family on the dairy farm until his father sold it and became the health inspector for Sherman. At this point the family moved to Burton Street, where Jim, Richard and their new younger brother Don grew up.

In high school, Richard had a teacher who introduced him to accounting, and he quickly
discovered his calling in life. He also got his first car, Rawhide.

Richard graduated in 1961 and attended Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, TX.
Here he met Franklin Watkins, and four years later married Franklin's sister Carolyn,
who also was a student at Hardin Simmons.

After Richard graduated in 1965, he went to the University of Texas at Austin.
Three years later he graduated with an MBA in Accounting and soon got his CPA License. Then, in 1968, he began his career as an accountant with Peat Marwick Mitchell, and bought his first house in Garland, TX, where his first child, Paul, was born.

Then his career in oil began with Carlson Petroleum. After a brief spell in Amarillo,
Richard and his family returned to Dallas and bought a home in Richardson.

His next child, Mark, was born in 1975. Around this time, Richard has the inspiration to design his own house and move to Coppell, TX.

Here, in Coppell in 1979, his third child Melody Ann was born.

In 1983, Richard started his own accounting firm. He had an office in Irving, TX and many clients he served for the next 20 years. In 2003 he sold his practice and moved into semi-retirement in his home office- with some of his favorite clients-
where he focused exclusively on his principal interesting in accounting: tax resolution.

Grandchildren Claire and Grace, now ages 14 and 10, were born in this period, and promptly set up shops in their Grandfather's office, where they played until they began school.

Beloved by all for his humor and kindness, Richard passed away on June 24, 2025.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Dannel Funeral Home in Sherman, Texas. The family will have a reception honoring Richard prior to the service. Interment will follow the service at West Hill Cemetery in Sherman.