THOMPSON LEROY A

Captain Leroy A Thompson was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 04/08/2020 at the age of 76.5
Date of Birth 10/15/1943
Served in the U.S. Marine Corps
Served in Vietnam with HMM-265 in 67-68
This information was provided by Sammie Williams - obit

More detail on this person: LeRoy (Lee) Arthur Thompson was born to Arthur and Myrtle (Johnson) Thompson on October 15, 1943, in Polk County on a farm outside of Erskine, MN. He passed away suddenly at the age of 76 on April 8, 2020 in Sioux Falls, SD. He graduated from Luverne High School in Minnesota in 1961 and from Concordia College (Moorhead, MN) in 1965. After he completed U.S. Naval Flight School as a 1st Lieutenant U.S. Marine, he flew over 600 helicopter missions in Vietnam. In 1970, he gave up a commission as a Marine Captain and returned to the Luverne area where he met Dianne Dreessen. After getting married to Dianne on November 27, 1970, Lee started his career in the oil industry with Skelly Oil, which became Getty Oil and finally Texaco Oil. That led the family to homes in St. Louis Park, MN; Rochester, MN; Duluth, MN; Clinton, IA where they adopted their two sons Ryan Lee and Douglas Arthur Thompson. They then lived in Broken Arrow, OK, Urbandale, IA, Tulsa, OK and Parker, CO. Lee retired from Texaco Oil in 1998, and he and Dianne moved to Sioux Falls, SD. Lee is survived by sons, Ryan and Douglas Thompson both of Sioux Falls; and one grandson, Rylie Thompson; sisters Carolyn (Wayne) Holbert of Santee, SC and Diane (Jim) Hickman of New Braunfels, TX; brothers Marty (Anita) Thompson of Chanhassen, MN and Howard (Elaine Knutson) Thompson of Ham Lake, MN; and brother-in-law, Glen Swanson, of Worthington, MN; he is also survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife Dianne and his sister, JoAnn Swanson. A private family funeral service took place at Heritage Funeral Home on Thursday, April 16, 2020 with burial in Luverne, MN. The family looks forward to a time later this summer for a celebration of life to honor Lee. Condolences can be sent to Heritage Funeral Home for Lee's family.

This information was last updated 04/19/2020

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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025