Gerald (Jerry) W. Thompson

Gerald (Jerry) W. Thompson, 80, of Shepherdstown, died at home Friday evening.

He was the son of Henry and Grace Thompson, of Waterloo, Iowa. After graduating from college, he was drafted in the Army. He spent two years in the Counter Intelligence Corps, in Washington, D.C.

Following his military service, he earned a masters degree from the former State College of Iowa, now University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Between 1962 to 1976, he taught high school in Illinois and held an administrative position in the Jefferson County School District.

He then established the Gerald W. Thompson Oriental Rugs business. He joined the Textile Museum in 1973, where he was a frequent lecturer. He also established a personal rug collection.

He was an officer in the Washington, D.C., Rug Society, now the Hajji Baba Rug Society.

He is survived by a son, Steven Thompson, of Manassas, Virginia; Kaye Pritchard, of Buckingham, Iowa, whom he married in 1986; three stepsons, Nathan, Seth and Kurt Jesse; and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Sarah Thompson; a brother, Richard Thompson; and his parents. Memorial donations may be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center at donate.splcenter.org. The services will be private.