James Spencer Thompson

LHS '64

1946 - October 6, 2022

James Spencer Thompson, 76 of Huntsville, passed away on October 6, 2022. He is survived by his wife, Jen Thompson; daughter, Amanda McCulley (Andrew); stepdaughter, Taunia Cereshini; granddaughter, Isabella McCulley; brother, Jeff Thompson (Sandy).

Mr. Thompson retired from Huntsville Fire Department after 39 years of service.  He was a lifelong resident of Madison County, a United States Air Force veteran, and he served as Chaplin for the Huntsville Fire Department for a number of years.

Visitation will be Sunday, October 9, 2022, at Berryhill Funeral Home from 10:00 to 12:00 PM. Services will follow with Rev. Harold Fanning officiating. Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery.

From Huntsville Fire Chief McFarlen's Facebook post,

It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our long-time Huntsville Fire Department Chaplain Spence Thompson. Spence passed away unexpectedly this morning. Spence came to work at the Fire Department in 1969 and worked 39 years as the Administrative Aid to the Fire Chief.  He was the person that managed the budget and the administrative office for 8 Fire Chiefs. With hundreds of personnel in the fire department, Spence could tell you by memory at any given time which shift, station, and truck each Firefighter, Driver, and Captain was assigned to. He was probably one of the most loved members in the history of the Huntsville Fire Department because of the way he treated people. Even after retirement, he loved Huntsville Fire Department.  He still kept up pretty well with where everyone was. He performed the Chaplain role at our last Cadet Graduation in September. He really enjoyed meeting the new Cadets/Firefighters and welcoming them to the Fire Department family.  Arrangements are pending. Please keep his family and his Fire Department family in your prayers.

Books And Magazines In Our Younger Days

 Which Would Seem Strange to Our Grandkids

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

I was listening to the lyrics of an Oldie-Goldie song playing on my favorite radio station the other day and my mind drifted back to trying to figure out the lyrics of songs back when I was a teenager. Today all one has to do is get on a computer or smartphone and Google the song's name and get multiple responses listing the lyrics. That was not so when we were younger. 

My mother loved to sing when I was growing up and did until the day she died. She was the one who introduced me to the way we learned lyrics back when we were young. The Grand News Stand and grocery stores sold magazines that contained all the lyrics of the latest songs. It was only the words and not the music to go with it, much like Google provides today. Many of these magazines were still in print even in the Eighties.

Although I have not really discussed the topic with any of my own grandkids, I am sure they would wonder why anyone would pay money to just see the words to a song

I had hoped to see Spencer Thompson at the last reunion and had even planned to have him say a prayer before the meal, but he did not show up. I had no idea he would be the next one of our crowd to leave us. I was only social friends with Spencer, but he was always the first one to congratulate me for putting out the latest issue of Lee's Traveller, even if it was just a short line or two. I did not publish his emails each week but I certainly enjoyed hearing from him. I will miss our communications in the future.

Hurricanes

Janet James Holland 

LHS '67

My daughter Vikkie and I spent Hurricane Ian discussing the unnamed storm in Captiva '82. She was 11, and we lived there for 3 years. It had become a family spot, suggested by the Stuhlingers who loved it. Now living on Captiva in the 80's, we had already been sent off island for a hurricane that didn't happen, but they missed this one. It was too late to leave, as one had to travel the length of Sanibel to get to the causeway bridge you saw split in half several places. As Ian hit mainly Sanibel, the unnamed one hit Captiva. If you've seen the islands on the map, Captiva is a long and skinny island, often with only room for the road on the gulf and a couple of buildings on the bay. We survived the unnamed storm on the cruiser we lived on, docked at Jensen's Marina, just outside South Seas. In the morning, there was no dock. The Sanibel to Captiva bridge was gone. The islands, previously joined, were now separated. And the entire beach on the gulf was gone, too. 

Vikkie and I talked on the phone about the experience as we remembered it. And now she was experiencing Ian on Edisto Island, S.C., her first hurricane there. Previously it was a vacation home as they lived in Chicago, so she had missed the other hurricanes. As it was predicted to hit Charleston, next to them, they expected their 40 acres to be under water. Instead, it hit our childhood vacation spot, Myrtle Beach area, sparing Edisto totally. The new palm trees, fruit trees, flowering trees were bent to the ground, but it was just a dry run for the future. Nerve-racking, as Captiva was on our minds first, it was quickly forgotten for Chapin and Mike who went kayaking on the river they live on, the Edisto River, as soon as it passed.

These 2 hurricanes in the Captiva years made me reverse homes back to Huntsville. And the nearby, constant tornadoes and soaring heat sent me to Whidbey Island's safety and mildness. My whole family lived on a boat at one time, and with the adventures over, I am glad to just hear about others. Last week when Iris von Braun and Sabina Schlidt visited Lee and me here on Whidbey, those memories and stories were flowing. As special as our memories are of our years, I think they are nothing compared to Werner (von Braun), Doretta (Schlidt), Ernst (Stuhlinger), Dad (Lee James), and no hurricane can match what they lived through.

Our thoughts and prayers to all of Ian's victims,

Janet James Holland '67

Whidbey Island, WA

This Week's Questions, Answers, Comments

Robert Anthony Pierce, LHS '64,  "Susan and I were going to just sit IAN out but when the weatherman said it would still be a category 1 when it got to Orlando (we live about 30 miles from Orlando) we decided to go to the beach. We saw IAN was coming NE so we went NW toward Tallassee, Only 2 hotels on booking.com so, Panama Beach was empty, no sane person goes to the beach in a hurricane. Had our pick, picked only excellent rated, Spring Hill Resort by Marrott, wonderful. Our places were fine, as were we."

A Song by The Hurricanes

Down Yonder -  Johnny & the Hurricanes

I am not trying to make light of the destruction of the hurricane which just hit Florida, but when I was trying to come up with a fitting song, this one came to me. It was still popular and an often-played favorite for the Two-Step skate at Carter's Skateland when I had my encounter with the hurricane.