James Nelson “Jimmy” Thompson Sr., 88, died Friday, June 8, 2012, at the Vicksburg Convalescent Home following a lengthy illness.

He was preceded in death by his parents, A. Nelson Thompson and Mazie G. Thompson; and by a grandson, Jeremy Greene.

He leaves his wife, Mildred K. Thompson of Vicksburg; a daughter, Debra E. “Debi” Thompson Rochford (Mark) of Jacksonville, Fla.; a son, James N. “Jim” Thompson Jr. (Ellen) of Daphne, Ala.; and a brother, Harold G. Thompson (Joyce) of Conway, Ark., along with many relatives. He is also survived by his grandsons, Trevor Thompson of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Hunter Thompson of Geneva, Switzerland, and granddaughters, Amanda Thompson King (Jonathan) of Daphne, Taylor Thompson of Chicago and Angie Greene of Jacksonville; as well as Hadley King, his great-granddaughter.

Born in Marked Tree, Ark., he was a lifelong resident of Vicksburg. In his early years, the decedent would help his parents at the family’s grocery business. After graduating from Carr Central High School in 1941, he briefly attended college at the University of Alabama and Millsaps College before volunteering for active duty in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He spent two years flying combat missions over Germany with the 367th “Clay Pigeon” Bomb Group for the Eighth Army Air Corps in B-17 aircraft, based in Thurleigh, England.

After the war, he received his degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. After a few years working in the residential construction industry in Miami, he returned to Vicksburg to help his father operate a new grocery venture, Thompson’s Sunflower Food Store, at the corner of Bowmar Avenue and Drummond Street. Upon the sale of that store in the early 1970s, he worked for Koestler’s Bakery, the Shop-a-Minit chain of convenience stores, the Vicksburg Country Club and John Bell’s Truck Stop until his retirement in the early 1990s.

Mr. Thompson was a past member of both The Church of the Holy Trinity and Christ Episcopal Church and served the community in various capacities, including terms on the planning and zoning commission and aviation board.

Visitation will be held from 9:30 until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, at Riles Funeral Home with burial following at Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery in Vicksburg.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN.