Lilian Florence Thompson

Savannah Lilian Florence Norman Thompson, 88, died Saturday, February 11, 2017, in Savannah. Survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, Arthur Montgomerie Thompson; daughter, Patsy Buccy (E. Lee Davis) of Brooklet; sons, John Thompson (Fran Reisner) of Olympia, WA, and Rob Thompson (Beth Fabinsky) of La Canada-Flintridge, CA; grandchildren, Erin, Kyle,  and Evia Thompson of  WA, and Ben and Leila Thompsky of  CA; sisters, Mary Cole (Derek) of UK and Betty Stigent (Ron)  of Australia; as wells as numerous nieces and nephews. Born in Langdon Hills, Essex, England, on February 28, 1928, she was a resident of Savannah for 50 years.  After surviving the Great Depression and the Blitz, Lilian was trained as a teacher at Froebel Educational Center in the UK.  Her first job was at Bata School, at the beginning of the baby boom.  She was put in charge of a class of 50 children ages 4 through 6, with no teacher’s aide! She would usually be playing solitaire when her children got home from school and their afternoons often included a few games of Chinese checkers or Canasta and you can be sure that without asking any questions she would know everything about their day at school by the time the games ended. Lilian was an avid birder and was a founding member of Ogeechee Audubon.  She enjoyed bingo and puzzles.  She volunteered at Jacob G. Smith as a tutor for the visually impaired.  She also helped in the library repairing books and became quite proficient at bookbinding.  Lilian was also a long-time volunteer at the American Red Cross.  She also enjoyed helping her friend Charlotte Ferris at the local soup kitchen, and was a member of the Habersham Garden Club, and in later years became a member of St Michael’s Episcopal Church.   The family will always be grateful to St Michael’s for their outreach program that brought her communion regularly; it was a great comfort to her. The family thanks all of her friends and staff at John Wesley Villas Assisted Living, for giving her a great social environment for her last years; Dr. Laygo, Nurse Josette and the staff at Chatham Medical associates for all the help and compassion as we dealt with the aging process; and our heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Hospice House for keeping her comfortable in her last few days and ministering to her family. Lilian loved children and had no greater pleasure than to FaceTime with the grandchildren she so adored.  In lieu of flowers, we suggest remembrances in Lilian's name to Ogeechee Audubon, American Red Cross, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church or Hospice House. Services will be held at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2017, at St. Michael and All Angels Church in Savannah. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Lilian Florence Thompson, please visit our flower store.