- Date Of Birth: May 6, 1931
- Date Of Death: July 2, 2016
- State: Georgia
Dr. Robert Franklin Thompson M.D. died on July 2, 2016, in Newnan, Georgia. He was born on Jackson Street in Newnan on May 6, 1931, as the only child of Rebecca Ingram of Sharpsburg and Joseph Franklin Thompson of Heflin, Alabama. Dr. Thompson graduated from Newnan High School in 1948.
He went on to attend Emory at Oxford and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Georgia where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He graduated from Emory University School of Medicine in 1956 and completed his internship in internal medicine at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. He was a flight surgeon with the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command from 1958 to 1960. He completed his residency in head and neck surgery at North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Bowman-Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1964. Following six months of research on the inner ear, Dr. Thompson established his private practice in Atlanta. His teaching appointments included Chief of E.N.T. at Piedmont Hospital from 1970-1974, Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Electrical Engineering, and a teacher for ear research at Georgia Tech.
In 1975, he moved back to Newnan and began a private surgical practice. Dr. Thompson was elected to the Newnan Hospital Board of Directors in 1978 and served until he retired in 1998. He was a member of the Georgia Surgical Society, Georgia Society of Otolaryngology, American Board of Otolaryngology, in addition to many other professional societies. Dr. Thompson was a lifetime member of Central Baptist Church. He had a passion for medical missions and served in many Caribbean countries.
Dr. Thompson is survived by his wife of 34 years, Judy Baker Thompson; daughter and son-in-law, Pam and Pat Weber of Cumming; daughter and son-in-law, Cyndi and Robert Aiken of Dahlonega; son and daughter-in-law, Rock and Beth Thompson of Zachary, Louisiana; and daughter, Caroline Thompson of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Surviving grandchildren include Kyle Weber, Kyndal Weber, Audrey Aiken, Rock Thompson Jr., and Grace Thompson.
