William Leigh Thompson (August 11, 1937 – June 21, 2018) was a Democratic member of the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of ...

, representing the 60th district from 2001 until his retirement in 2011.

Background

Thompson was born in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

and went to Wyoming Midwest High School. He received his associated degree from

Casper College Casper College is a public community college in Casper, Wyoming. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive community colleges in the region. Established in 1945 as Wyoming's first junior college and initially located on the third floor o ...

. Thompson also received his bachelor's degree from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

and his master's degree from

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

. Thompson was a teacher at the Green River High School, the

Sweetwater County School District Number 2 Sweetwater County School District #2 is a public school district based in Green River, Wyoming, United States. Geography Sweetwater County School District #2 serves the southwestern portion of Sweetwater County, including the following communitie ...

, from 1961 until 1996.

Political career

When incumbent Democratic Representative Louise Ryckman announced her retirement, Thompson ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and was elected with 62.9% of the vote. Thompson served as House Minority Whip between 2003 and 2007. He was reelected four more times before announcing his retirement in 2011, and was succeeded by fellow educator and Democrat John Freeman.

Death

Thompson died on June 21, 2018, in

Green River, Wyoming Green River is a city in and the county seat of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 12,515 at the 2010 census. History The townsite of Green River, Dakota Territory was platte ...

at the age of 80.

References

External links

Wyoming State Legislature - Representative Bill ThompsonProject Vote Smart - Representative Bill Thompson (WY)
*''Follow the Money'' - Bill Thompson
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campaign contributions 1937 births 2018 deaths Democratic Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives Politicians from Casper, Wyoming Casper College alumni University of Wyoming alumni Utah State University alumni Educators from Wyoming People from Green River, Wyoming {{Wyoming-politician-stub