Tommy Joe Compton, 86, of Lampasas died April 17, 2010, in Lampasas.

A memorial service is April 21 at 2 p.m. at Sneed Funeral Chapel in Lampasas.

Mr. Compton was born Nov. 7, 1923.

He began working for his father in Lipan and then went on to Slickrock, Colo., during the depression years. They worked in the mines in Slickrock and established a country general store.

Mr. Compton returned to Texas when World War II broke out and worked in a government assignment with the U.S. War Department in England before going into the Navy to begin naval aviator training.

After the war, Mr. Compton returned to Lipan to work on the family farm. He began school at John Tarleton State College.

Mr. Compton then married Maxine Deree Bobo and began 32 years of employment with the state of Texas, beginning with the Texas Department of Public Welfare in Burnet County, followed by nine years in Big Spring. The remaining time was with the Employee Retirement System in Austin.

Mr. Compton was a member of the Big Spring Toastmasters Club and president of the DPW Credit Union (now the Greater Texas Federal Credit Union).

After his retirement from the state, the Comptons moved to Lampasas and then to Fredericksburg where they remained until Mrs. Compton’s death in August 1996.

Mr. Compton returned to Lampasas where he was a member of the Lampasas Golf Association.

He and his wife, Dottie, married in March 2003.

Survivors include his wife of Lampasas; two sons and their wives, Robert and Barbara Compton and David and Katherine Compton; a daughter, Suzanne Lansford; five grandchildren, Atesha Compton, William Lansford, Chris Compton, Lindsay Compton and Jennifer Compton; two step-grandchildren, Micah Key and Sara Key; four greatgrandchildren; a sister, Ida (Dike) Williams; a stepdaughter, Mary Ann Slavin and husband, Patrick; a stepson, Lynn and Amy Morgan and their two children; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Lucille; two brothers, Burl and Coy; and a granddaughter, Leanne Deree Lansford.

Memorials may be made to the ASPCA or to the charity of one’s

choice.

SNEED Funeral Chapel

Third & Chestnut • Lampasas

512-556-1183