William E. Thompson III, a retired food broker who was a volunteer and treasurer of the American Flag Foundation, died Feb. 19 at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson of complications from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 84.
The son of William E. Thompson Jr., a food broker, and Helen Ernst Porter Thompson, William Edward Thompson III was born in Baltimore and raised on Tudor Arms Avenue near Wyman Park.
After graduating from McDonogh School in 1949, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1953 from the Johns Hopkins University. He enlisted in the Army and served in Alaska as a lieutenant.
After returning from the service, Mr. Thompson sold insurance for several years before he joined his father at W.H. Bryan & Co. Inc., a Baltimore food brokerage, where he rose to become a managing partner.
The business later became Brokerage Sales Inc.; Mr. Thompson continued working there until retiring in 2013.
Mr. Thompson formerly lived in Village Green in Riderwood and later on Boyce Avenue in Ruxton. Since 2012, he had resided at the Blakehurst retirement community in Towson.
He was a volunteer and for 25 years was treasurer of the American Flag Foundation, and he enjoyed participating in the annual living American flag ceremony at Fort McHenry and the Pause for the Pledge program.
Mr. Thompson was a member of the Baltimore Country Club and a past member of the Roland Run Club and Valley Country Club. A Mason, he was a member of the Mount Moriah Lodge, Scottish Rite and Boumi Temple. He was also a member of the Royal Order of Jesters.
He was a Ravens fan and enjoyed powerboating, tennis and bridge. A model railroader, he liked setting up his Lionel and American Flyer trains at Christmastime, family members said.
His wife of 59 years, the former Carol Elizabeth Brown, died in 2010.
Mr. Thompson was a member of Ascension Lutheran Church, 7601 York Road, Towson, where a memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Mr. Thompson is survived by two sons, William E. Thompson IV and Robert Carroll Thompson, both of Rodgers Forge; two daughters, Diane Leslie Thompson Knipp of Parkton and Anne Thompson Harrington of Lutherville; 15 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Another son, Jay Scott Thompson, died in 2011.