William D. "Duffy" Thompson: Longtime Volunteer for Sun 'n Fun Dies at 87

Duffy Thompson takes his place volunteering in the ground advisory tower ("Duffy's Tower") at the 30th annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, as he had done since the first Fly-In. He was a founder of the Fly-In and a member of its board of directors.

 SCOTT WHEELER | THE LEDGER

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LAKELAND | When William D. "Duffy" Thompson died Saturday at age 87, he left the community a better place because he was here.

His wife, Joan Blakely Thompson, said he was in hospice care in Auburndale when he died. "It was at 6 a.m.," she said. "He was holding my hand."

Thompson came to Lakeland in 1966 to work for the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce. He was a fundraising executive there for about 20 years. He also started Lakeland's Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

But the volunteer work he was most passionate about took place at Sun 'n Fun.

A pilot who owned seven aircraft, he was one of the Sun 'n Fun founders. He was a board member and an extremely active volunteer for about 40 years.

At the annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, Thompson could be seen operating from "Duffy's Tower," where he guided taxiing aircraft by radio to various parking areas. He only recently relinquished the job to others.

Bob Knight, chairman of the Sun 'n Fun board, said Saturday he was able to visit with Thompson several times in recent days. He bestowed honors to the longtime volunteer on behalf of Sun 'n Fun, he said.

"He acted as chairman of the campground back acres for years, and just before he died, I visited him with an artist's rendering of a new entrance into the campground — naming it ‘Camp Duffy,'?" he said. "It was his pet project for years.

"I told him it'll say that in great big letters," he said.

Thompson loved being a part of the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In and was proud of his many years of service.

"He wanted me to make him an emeritus member of the board before he died," Knight said. "So we had a plaque made up for him."

Although he was weak from the cancer that eventually took his life, Thompson was aware of the distinctions he was given and smiled, Knight said.

"He was a great guy," Knight said. "He was really well-liked by everybody and will be sorely missed."

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Thompson attended Georgia Military College in Atlanta and obtained a bachelor's degree from Ohio State University. He was an Army veteran of World War II and served in China and on occupation duty in Korea.

In addition to his wife, Joan, he is survived by his son, William Wayne Thompson of Lakeland, and his daughter, Susan Joan Thompson of Flower Mound, Texas.

Service arrangement details were not available yet on Saturday.

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