Stanley Paul Thompson

Stanley Paul Thompson was born on May 7, 1939, son of Walter T. "Ted" Thompson and Carabelle Hitchings Thompson. He was born in the old Stormont Hospital in Potwin. Stan died December 5, 2025 while he and Julie were listening to Christmas music. Stan was surrounded by his sons and their families plus many close friends during his last weeks.

Stan Thompson, a devoted family man, respected engineer, and lifelong servant to his community, passed away after a period of declining health. His life was marked by a deep commitment to faith, family, education, and mentorship.

Personal Life and Service

An Eagle Scout with Troop 7 at First Christian Church, Stan also earned his God and Country award, Order of the Arrow, and numerous extra palms as well as spending a month at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1952. His early accomplishments included being chosen as the Boy Commander of Forbes Air Force Base for a day. He was a dedicated athlete who played football at Topeka High School and with his team, was inducted into the THS Sports Hall of Honor as a member of the 1955 THS Varsity Football State Champs.

Stan married Julie W. High, on July 6, 1963. In August of 1963 Stan and Julie moved to Manhattan, KS, where they both attended Kansas State University to pursue degrees in their careers, which enabled them to work side by side most of their 62 years of marriage. They raised their family in Topeka.

Stan was also a private pilot and flew all over the country, including one year flying Bob Dole when he was running for the Senate, around the state as he campaigned. Stan shared his love of aviation with anyone who would listen. Stan was a big history buff for WWII due to the role aviation played in that war and loved war planes especially and airshows. The last plane Stan flew was a P51D.

Stan's passion for service shone through his work with children and youth. Alongside his wife, Julie, he taught Sunday school, assisted with Vacation Bible School (VBS), and led or helped with Middle School and Senior High youth groups at various churches. He was a Webelo leader for Pack 14 at McClure Elementary School and later served as an assistant Scoutmaster and eventually Scoutmaster for Troop 59 at Faith Lutheran Church.

He and Julie also co-chaired the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities and led a DivorceCare ministry for over 15 years at Covenant Baptist Church. They volunteered in Topeka Bible Church's Awana program and then Camp Catapult until Stan suffered a stroke on October 4, 2022. Stan was also involved in the Chore Corp ministry at Topeka Bible until his health failed. He was known for his generosity with his time and resources to all those he met through these ministries and groups.

Leveraging his scientific and engineering knowledge alongside his faith, Stan authored a creation curriculum based on the Bible. He taught this curriculum to Junior High and High School Sunday school classes and a Topeka West High School home Bible study group started by his son Bil and two friends.

Professional and Academic Life

Stan graduated from Kansas State University in December 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He quickly applied his skills, becoming a partner in Thompson Dehydrating Company in 1969. Thompson started as an alfalfa dehydrating company in 1945, eventually expanding to three plants and two fabrication shops. Stan used the plants and the shops to do research and development on rotary dryers throughout the years.

Stan, through Thompson Dehydrating Company, worked in a variety of industries drying products such as alfalfa, biomass, ethanol, pulp & paper, forest, charcoal, sugar, potatoes, aggregates, torrefaction, and many more. One project Stan especially enjoyed was with Hilo Coast Processing. Stan used waste heat to dry bagasse which was then put into a boiler that produced 60% of the power for Hilo, Hawaii.

Despite his accomplishments, Stan openly shared his personal journey with dyslexia. He became a passionate speaker at numerous schools across Kansas, local school districts, and Washburn University, sharing how his personal relationship with Christ enabled him to overcome his challenges, and go on to become a Mechanical Engineer, and invent technology in his area of expertise, resulting in numerous patents. Stan was a sought out speaker for professional conferences in his area of expertise.

Stan is survived by his wife Julie; his sons S.T. "Ted" (Michelle), William S. "Bil" (Hilary), Joshua Daniel (Jacquelyn); three grandsons, Zane (Audie), Liam, Henry; three granddaughters, Jazmyn (Brody), Bridget, Allysa (Isaiah); a great grandson Kyson; and a great grand baby due May 4, 2026. His sisters Gail Thompson Schwar (Charlie) and Linda Leafstedt; his sister-in-law Sammy High Tolbert Peck (Ed): his sister-in-law Deborah Johnson High, his brother-in-law Rick Liebl (Maria); and many nieces, nephews and cousins that were dear to Stan.

Stan was preceded in death by his parents, W.T. "Ted" and Carabelle Hitchings Thompson; his in-laws W.L."Bill" and Naomi Kopanger High; his brother-in-laws, Daniel J. High; James I. Tolbert, William High, Kenneth G. High (Arlynn); and Don High.

Services will be at Topeka Bible Church, 1101 SW Mulvane Ave., Topeka, Ks 66604: Visitation is from 6-8:00 pm, Wednesday, December 17th in the foyer of the Mulvane building; Celebration of Life, will be at 10:30 am, Thursday, December 18th, in the Mulvane Sanctuary. Elevator available.

Memorial donations may be made in Stan's memory to the Topeka Bible Church, 1135 SW College Avenue, Topeka, KS 66604