Spartanburg Methodist College is pleased to welcome Fletcher D. Thompson to the college’s Davis Mission Chapel on Friday, November 22nd at 11 a.m. to present “Reflections on my FBI Career and my Role in the Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.” The public is welcome to attend, and admission is free of charge.
Thompson, a 1941 graduate of SMC’s predecessor, Textile Industrial Institute, had a 33-year career with the FBI that covered a period of active service in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served three tours of duty at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he was assigned to the General Investigation Division. In addition to investigating kidnappings and other Federal violations, Thompson was the agent in charge of the Bank Robbery Unit. In November 1963, he was assigned to Dallas, Texas where he prepared the first investigation report of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Thompson also served as an Inspector and, at the time of his retirement in 1975, was Assistant Director of the FBI, in charge of the Bureau’s largest division.
A native of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, Thompson graduated from TII, and continued his education at the University of Toledo, earning a Juries Doctorate Degree from their Law School in 1951. He is a member of the Virginia, District of Columbia and South Carolina Bar Associations and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
Thompson and his family returned to Spartanburg following his FBI retirement and practiced in the legal fields of Probate and Adoption. In 1999, he was recognized with the “Angel in Adoption” award from the United States Congressional Coalition on Adoption. That same year, the American Academy of Adoption attorneys recognized Thompson as an “Honorary Member,” a distinction shared only by three other attorneys nationally and reserved for members whose “individual accomplishments bring distinction to the Academy.” In 2003, Fletcher received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Carolina Council on Adoptable Children.
In 2008, Thompson and his bride, Ruth DeLoache Thompson (a 1942 Spartanburg Junior College graduate), were recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award from their alma mater, Spartanburg Methodist College. Thompson served on the SMC Board of Directors for 12 years, and together he and Ruth established two endowed scholarship funds, one, established in 2007, is specifically designated for students pursuing a certificate in the SMC Paralegal Evening Program. Thompson continues to practice law with his son, James (Jim) Fletcher Thompson, concentrating in the field of adoption and assisted reproductive technologies.