Faye Thompson

Lottie Faye Giles Thompson passed away on January 11, 2021, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at age 93 as a result of complication of COVID-19. Faye was born in Milford, Texas, on June 28, 1927, to Edna and Roger Giles and became part of a loving family of two brothers and three sisters. She was in the Midlothian High School Class of 1945, and after graduation she worked in banking in downtown Dallas. Faye later went into direct sales where she enjoyed a successful career. 

While in banking, Faye met Richard V. Thompson Sr. (1917-2008), in 1947. R.V. was the son of Ethel May Gregory (1890-1983) and Rev. Richard F. Thompson (1894-1961), the grandson of Frances L. Campbell (1868-1956) and Rev. Richard V. Thompson (1864-1942), the gg grandson of Sarah Elizabeth Webb (1849-1935) and William C. Campbell (1844-1870), and the ggg grandson of Jeanette J. Clingan (1827-1923) and Benjamin F. Webb (1822-1881). Jeanette Clingan had been raised by Juda Ann Carr (1814-1883) and Joseph Roark (1813-1876) after her parents Jeanette Cloyd (1784-1830) and George Washington Clingan (1789-1830) both had died within weeks of each other.

Richard and Faye were married in 1949 and remained together for 59 years until R.V.’s passing in 2008. Faye is survived by her son Richard V. (Dick) Thompson, Jr. and his wife Shawn of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, her sister, Lila Wilson of Waxahachie, Texas, and many nieces, nephews and friends that she loved dearly. 

Faye dedicated a great deal of time and energy to Smile Stitchers, an outreach ministry, creating countless finger puppets for patients of Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. Another passion was her love of family and genealogy leading her to publish a family cookbook in 1983. In 2016, she published The Giles Family, Our Ancestors & Descendants recording the family genealogy from 1598 to 2015. Since 1949, Faye was a member of the First Baptist Church of Richardson, Texas. She loved the history of the church, working diligently to preserve it for future generations. 

Faye and R.V. were also members and strong supporters of the Roark-Conner Association (R-CA). From 1995-1997, Faye served as a Director. The May 1997 Newsletter stated that Faye, along with Sherri Gross and Liz Conner (Past President 2005-2006) were, “great sources of ideas for imaginative and interesting reunion programs, as well as providing intellectual contributions to the many other facets of the Association business.” During the 1997 Reunion, Faye assisted with directing various parts of the worship service. In 1998, Faye led the Family Fun Fest accompanied by Sherri Gross and Charles Beal. The January 1999 Newsletter stated, “Faye Thompson had us all laughing throughout the entire fun fest and we learned some very interesting things about each other. Thank you Faye, and thank you, Sherri Gross, for recruiting Faye to lead such a fun evening!” 

They had so much fun in 1998, that Faye was asked and agreed again to lead the Fun Fest in 1999. That year, on September 11, 1999, Faye and R.V. celebrated their 50th anniversary at the First Baptist Church, Richardson, Texas. In 2001, Faye became the Chairperson for the R-CA Book Distribution and Sales Committee with Jenna Mathews and Beth Thornton. From 2001-2013, they worked hard to promote the sales of the excellent books written by John J. Roark (Past President 1993-1995) including Joseph Roark: His Life and Times and Laura Roark Shropshire: Her Life and Works, as well as several other R-CA books. The Committee suggested to family members, “Remember: A book is a gift that can be opened again and again.” 

In 2008, with Chair, Gene Johnson (Past President 2011-2012), Faye was one of the members of the 50th RCA Reunion Committee responsible for public relations. To commemorate the 50th Reunion, Faye asked family members to save items of interest from the Reunion. Photographs, newspaper and website articles, reunion programs, and various other R-CA related items were submitted. Then with the help of author Dan Roark (son of John J. and Aggie Roark), Faye spent many hours categorizing and indexing the items to create a beautiful, leather bound scrapbook about the event. The scrapbook included 44 large acid-free sheet protectors (88 pages) filled with 140 photographs and dozens of 50th Reunion documents. It was wrapped in a cotton slipcase and stored in an acid-free box until display at each R-CA Reunion. This scrapbook is an important item of R-CA historical value. Unfortunately, we do not currently know who has the scrapbook. If anyone knows where it is, please let us know: BoD@Roark-Conner.org or call: 202-669-1802.

In 2009, Faye became the New Chair of the Membership Committee. Along with Vickey Lee and Marjorie Dudley, their goals were to call and update the membership list and to get more family members involved. Faye also participated in the Memorial Service during the 2008 Reunion.

In addition, Faye had done some research to help learn more about the status of the Clingan family, which has ties to the Roarks, Blythes, Webbs, and other families. A daughter of Alexander Adam Clingan became a ward of Joseph Roark and Juda Ann Carr. As a result of Faye’s inquiry, the Clingan Cemetery was located. 

Through the years, to further support the work of the Association, Faye made numerous generous donations in memory of ancestors who have passed. She was also a frequent attendee at the Witt Family Reunion in Texas, along with several other R-CA family members. 

During the 2012 Reunion, Faye and Jenna Mathews together received the John J. Roark Distinguished Service Award for their many, significant contributions to the success of R-CA and the continuation of our annual Reunions. Gene Johnson made the presentation. 

Among John J. Roark’s special memories of Faye was, “She would undertake any assignment given to her and would do a fantastic job that would be admired by everyone. She had great ‘sales’ experience and used that experience to gain the support of all who might work with her on any project and in her great work on the sale of Association books. I most remember her proclamation one year to the assembled reunion: ‘If any one of you has not bought this book, stop by my table on the way out and look me in the eye.’”

After Faye’s passing, her son Dick sent several books that she had treasured to Johanna and Terry Roark (Past President 1986, 2019, and 2020) for safekeeping. They cherish these books and sincerely appreciate Dick’s desire to share and preserve these books in memory of his mother.