Charles Duane Thompson

Charles Duane Thompson
Ogden - Charles Duane Thompson, 84, passed away August 19, 2012 at McKay Dee Hospital of cancer. He was born January 22, 1928 in Salina, Utah to Alvornia John and Veda V. Herbert Thompson. Charles served in the Merchant Marines during WWII and in the Army during the Korean Conflict; achieving the rank of Master Sgt.
Charles married Juanita Lee Klump on April 19, 1952 at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD; they celebrated their 60th Anniversary this year.
Charles, Duane to his Ogden friends, grew up in Ogden on Grant, Kiesel, and Washington. He attended Lincoln School. Because he started working full time at a young age, he obtained a GED. After military service, he studied at Weber State and Stevens Henegar Colleges.
He was a member of the LDS Church.
Charles Duane began working during his youth in the 1930's as a newspaper boy on the corner of 25th St. and Wall Ave. in Ogden, across the street from Union Station. He sold Ogden papers to the crowds who came from the trains seeking overnight lodging in the hotels on 25th Street. During this time of the Great Depression, he also sold baked goods door to door with his brothers and sisters. His parents ran the family bakery out of their home.
As a teen he worked as a cook at Ogden's Bob's Barbeque on Washington, riding his bike to make the night deposit at the bank after closing. Still in his teens, he worked at Defense Depot Ogden. One of his duties was transporting workers between DDO and Cache Valley via cattle truck on the old winding highway.
At 16 years old, he fibbed about his age and joined the Merchant Marine. After a sea sick trip across the Pacific and back, he opted for the United States Army. World War II was over, but he did get to participate in the restoration of parts of France and Germany. While in Europe he learned ski jumping.
Baseball had been the passion of his youth. While stationed in Japan, he had the opportunity to umpire for Japanese baseball leagues, which the Army encouraged.
When the Korean Conflict began, his division was first on the scene, arriving from Japan. He served in combat all but 2 weeks of the 18 month war, even spending an entire snowy winter in tents trapped between the Yangtze River and the enemy.
While recovering from the war at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, he met and married the love of his life, Lee, WAC (Women's Army Corps) photographer.
Their adventure continued in Europe. With the family safely stowed in Salzburg, Austria, Charles served in Army Intelligence in Berlin. He ran a "safe house" under an assumed identity. When safety became an issue, the family returned to the United States while he helped with the clandestine U.S. operation of burying arms for the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
He served state side in Kentucky, Ohio, and Utah. He went back to Korea for a year in 1962-63. During a period of rain and flooding, he led a rescue of a Korean village using Army amphibious vehicles.
After retiring from the Army, he began a second career. First as a guidance counselor, and then as an automotive instructor, he worked at the Clearfield Job Corps. He eventually ran the advanced UAW program there. Later, he was the center director of the Earl C. Clements Job Corps Center in Morganfield, KY. During his years at the Clearfield Job Corps, he also owned a car repair business adjacent to his home in Mountain Green.
He continued to work as a substitute instructor at the Clearfield Job Corps until about a year ago when his health began to deteriorate. Thus, his working career spanned 76 years!
Just like an Army recruiting advertisement, he really could accomplish more before 9:00 AM than most people do all day.
Charles played a lot of baseball, but loved all sports and supported his grandchildren in their activities. He also loved fishing trips to mountain or ocean. He enjoyed listening to classical guitar and Strauss Waltzes. His favorite pass times of late, besides watching sports, were reading the Ogden Standard Examiner and watching TV news.
Charles is survived by his wife, Juanita; 2 daughters and 1 son, Joyce Vann of Bellevue, KY, Bill (Jeannine) Thompson of Ivins, UT, Christie (Rob) Moore of N. Ogden, UT; 8 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; 1 brother and 2 sisters, Myln (Jill) Thompson of Sparks, NV, Alvornia Thacker of West Haven, and Ellie Thompson of Ogden.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Veda, who died when he was a toddler; father, Alvornia, and stepmother, Olive Wooley Thompson, who raised him; his older brother, Herbert John Thompson; a step sister, Marilyn Pace Hill; and brother-in-law, Fred Thacker.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, September 14, 2012 at Myers Ogden Mortuary, 845 Washington Blvd. A viewing for friends and family will be held on Thursday, September 13th from 6 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Interment, Ben Lomond Cemetery.
VisitationMyers Mortuary - Ogden
100 Monroe Blvd.
Ogden, UT 84404
September 13, 2012
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
ServiceMyers Mortuary - Ogden
1875 Monroe Blvd
Ogden, Utah 84401
September 14, 2012
11:00 AM
CemeteryBen Lomond Cemetery
526 East 2850 No
North Ogden, UT 84414
September 14, 2012