Gone West
Sam Thompson Sam Thompson, retired previous owner of Tulsa Aircraft Engines in Tulsa, Oklahoma, passed away unexpectedly November 14, 2012. He was 70 years old, born November 12, 1942, in Tulsa. As recent as Saturday night, November 10, he celebrated his 70th birthday and retirement from Tulsa Aircraft Engines. Sam was well-known throughout the ag-aviation industry for his calm and quiet demeanor. He received
both his private and commercial pilot certificates in the same year he graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 1965. He also attended Northeastern State College, Tulsa University, and Tulane University earning a master’s degree in the arts. He started working at Tulsa Aircraft Engines in 1974 and served as vice president, shop supervisor, and eventually owner after his father, Henry Thompson. Previously, Sam was an assistant professor of art at Farmington State College and teacher of art at Tulsa public schools. Sam is survived by his wife, Vanessa Thompson, mother Lois Johnson, daughter Julie Spencer, and five grandchildren Ella, Kate, Zoie, Lucy, and Cotton. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Philbrook Museum of Art or the MD Anderson Cancer Center (713-792-3450).
What W hat O Our ur Members Membbers Are Restoring Are you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you’re b u s y f l yi n g a n d s h o wi n g i t o f f ? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print from a commercial source or a 4-by-6-inch, 300-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine. You can burn photos to a CD, or if you’re on a high-speed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you’d like to make the photos smaller, say no.) For more information, you can also e-mail jbusha@eaa.org. VINTAGE AIRPLANE
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