James Clement Roy Thompson

Roy Thompson passed away on June 19, 2018 (10:00 am) at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon after a courageous battle with cancer.  On that day, many Canadian fish respectfully felt a sense of relief (as we imagine his mischievous smile).  He was a cherished husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. Dad was born in Charlo, New Brunswick on the Bay of Chaleur.  He was the eldest of 12 children in a fisherman’s family.  Roy joined the Royal Canadian Air Force when he was 17 and retired from the Military in 1977 after serving 25 years.  Some of Roy’s professional accomplishments while a member of the Air Force included being a part of the Golden Hawks aeronautical team and working in Cold War Europe from August 1960 to November of 1967 as part of the NATO forces.  As a result, his children feel very privileged to have had such interesting childhoods in Belgium, France and Germany.  He ended his professional life in 2001 after working for 18 years as an electronics tech and circuit designer at the University of Saskatchewan’s Linear Accelerator, which he helped to develop into the Canadian Light Source (Synchrotron).  In addition to his professional life, his list of accomplishments included, building his first house in its entirety, building furniture and stereo systems, rebuilding automobile engines, tying fishing flies and the list could go on.  But most of all, Roy could be best described as a practical man with a great sense of humour who was devoted to his family.  He is survived by Agnes, his loving wife of 62 years; his sons Darcy (Susan) of Collingwood, Derek (Jenny English) of Saskatoon and David (Kazuko Ihara) of Tokyo; his daughter Debbie Mackenzie (Randy); his grandchildren Jordon (Michaela), Ashton, Graham, Meredith, Drew, Zachary, Zayne and Haley; and his brothers and sisters in New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba. A small service with immediate family and a few of his close friends was held at the Columbarium at St. John's Cathedral on Saturday June 23, 2018.