R W Thompson

R W Thompson, 93, of the Kansas City Northland, passed away September 12, 2021, at Norterre Care Center in Liberty, MO.

R W was born Raymond Woodrow Thompson on September 16, 1927, in Augusta, KS, the son of Russell E. Thompson, Sr. and Hazel Marie Steele Thompson. Along with his parents, R W was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Lou Thompson, brother, Russell Earl Thompson, II; sisters, Sue Stephens and Vonda Cupit; and a step-daughter.

RW left Augusta, KS in July of 1934 and moved to Marionville, MO and was there until the Spring of 1938. He moved his love of fishing to entrepreneur status when he moved to Cassville, MO near Roaring River where he worked for the family business and taught adults how to fly fish. He enjoyed pleasant days in the summertime with fishermen and families.

RW enrolled at Southwest Missouri State where he studied Meteorology and Geometry and financed his education by selling shoes until the summer of 1945, when he took part in the multi-state wheat harvest until the Fall of 1945.

In 1945, RW went to Officers Candidate School in Hoboken, NJ and remembered being shipped out on a cattle train. He went through several advancements and was finally discharged from active duty in 1946 where he enrolled at the University of Missouri, Columbia Campus until 1950. He received two bachelor degrees (AB & BS) which were concentrated in Personnel Management (Human Resources).

He worked for a succession of companies, such as Allied Laboratories from 1950 to 1953, Arthur Andersen & Co from 1953 to 1958 as an auditor where he obtained his CPA in 1956. From 1958-1960 he was the Chief Fiscal Officer for Menorah Medical Center and did some consulting on his own on the side.

RW became a partner of Smith and Harder in 1961 and was there until 1968 establishing and managing the Kansas City office. From 1975 until 1977 he had his own company, RW Thompson, Consultant which specialized in credit unions.

From July 1977 until October 1993, RW served as the City Auditor for the City of Kansas City, Missouri where he facilitated many major audits and was appointed to the National AGA Accounting Standards Committee. In October, 1993, RW accepted a retirement offer from the city and renewed his own private practice where he was the chief witness in a $12 million plus fraud case for the Kansas Attorney General.

RW Thompson was a Mason and a very active member of Abdallah Shrine Temple and Ararat Shrine Temple, especially as a member of their Greeters' units. He also served various capacities in the Central States Greeters Association.

Survivors include his sons, Raymond Woodrow Thompson, II, Gary A. Thompson and David S. Thompson; and two grandchildren. He also leaves four step children and their families from his second and third marriages.

RW bequeathed his body to the University of Kansas. The family requests no flowers, but suggests memorial contributions be made to the Abdallah Children’s Transportation Fund.

RW bequeathed his body to the University of Kansas. The family requests no flowers, but suggests memorial contributions be made to the Abdallah Children’s Transportation Fund.