Margie and Ray Thompson were HCJB Global's first missionary pharmacists, serving at Hospital Vozandes-Quito for five years during their retirement in the late 1980s. Ray died on Dec. 18, 2012.

(by Ralph Kurtenbach - Jan. 25, 2013) A father's dream for his son came true in February 1949 when Ray Thompson Jr. and his father bought a drugstore in an area of Topeka, Kan., where a Caucasian neighborhood bordered an African-American community.

"In spite of the racial problems of that era," Ray's widow, Margie, wrote decades later, "both owners became friends of both communities and Ray was often called 'Doc.'"

Born on May 22, 1925, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Ray lived with his parents and a sister in St. Joseph, Mo., and later in Bellevue, Kan. His hair color earned him the nickname "Red."

Both during and after World War II, he attended universities in Kansas where low enrollments prompted the colleges to accept high school seniors in the top 10 percent of their classes. In just 14 months of Kansas University (KU) classes, Ray completed three full semesters plus an intense five-week session.

Drafted into the army in early1944, he served with the 73rd Hospital Train Unit in Paris. The trains transported wounded soldiers and sometimes prisoners of war to hospitals in France, Germany and Belgium and to port cities. Stabilized patients were then sent back to the U.S. Discharged in 1946, Ray returned to KU, graduating in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy.

Roger Reimer, who formerly led HCJB Global's Healthcare Division in Ecuador, congratulates the Thompsons at their farewell in Quito on May 25, 1989.

Expanding their father's lifelong dream, the Thompsons later bought a second pharmacy in Topeka. However, with pharmacists in short supply, they ran both stores for a few years before selling. Then in 1955 the senior Thompson died of a heart attack at the age of 55.

Ray Jr. continued as a pharmacist, but after a few more years he sold the store, eventually moving to Denver, Colo., to pursue one of his own dreams. "When he was growing up, his family took vacations in Colorado every summer, often in the Evergreen area," explained Margie, who met Ray after he'd moved to Colorado.

He tried several drugstore jobs in Denver, but nothing seemed right. "I didn't know it or didn't give it a thought, but God had it arranged," he wrote decades later in his memoirs. "The next job interview changed my life for the rest of my life and for eternity."

He got a job in the prepackaging, manufacturing and compounding section at the pharmacy in the University of Colorado Hospital. That's where he met Margie who had become the director of outpatient dispensing six months earlier.

Margie, perceiving that Ray had no spiritual foundation or any real belief or trust in God, suggested that he might find night classes interesting at the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary. He agreed and took a class called "Basic Beliefs."

By the 14th class, Ray concluded that the Bible was true, that faith in Christ provided forgiveness of sins and that he wanted Christ in control of his life in order to become the person he wanted to be. Together, he and Margie began attending Trinity Baptist Church in Wheat Ridge. They became members of the congregation, and on April 9, 1965, were married there by Vernon Grounds, president of the seminary.

Ray later seized the opportunity to become the first director of pharmacy at the newly opened Valley View Hospital in Thornton, Colo., working there for 20 years.

Ray Thompson Jr. 1925-2012

The Thompsons' church involvement transformed into overseas mission work in 1984 when they became medical missionaries with HCJB Global. After completing Spanish language school in Costa Rica, they became the first missionary pharmacists at Hospital Vozandes-Quito.

Serving with Ecuadorians in the pharmacy, they set up an improved system of buying and dispensing medications. They stayed for five years as planned before returning to their home in Evergreen, Colo., in May 1989.

Ray died peacefully in his sleep in the early-morning hours of Tuesday, Dec. 18. He was 87. In addition to his wife of 47 years, he is survived by a daughter, Pam; two sons, Terry and Mark; as well as five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held at Covenant Village in Westminster on Friday, Jan. 11. The family has asked that memorial gifts be sent to either the Alzheimer's Association (455 Sherman St. #500, Denver, CO 80203) or the Benevolent Care Fund at Covenant Village of Colorado (9153 Yarrow St., Westminster, CO 80021).

Source: HCJB Global