Myra Cantey Thompson

My wife of 19 years, Myra Cantey Thompson, went to her heavenly reward on August 8, 2019. Myra was more than my wife, she was my friend and my confidant. She had a beautiful smile and a way of disengaging even the most fierce critic. Her loyalty was not only to me, but to her family and her friends. She was a generous, caring person. We enjoyed many a Sunday watching Panthers football and she was an avid fan and cheerleader for the team. As her time with us began to wind down, just like Dylan Thomas, I screamed to her, “do not go gentle into that good night” I wanted her to “rage, rage against the light”. Alas, my pleas went unanswered; because her enemy, cancer, won out in the end. I am certain that each and everyone who knew her will miss her dearly, but not as much as I will. She spent twenty-five years in the employ of Guilford County making an impact in both the Budget, Management and Evaluation Department and the Department of Social Services. She has too many coworkers who became friends to mention here. Suffice it to say that she appreciated and respected each and everyone of you. Myra did leave a legacy that will ensure that her memory never dies. We celebrate her life and her resurrection and that she is in a better place and has joined her Father, Edward (Hoot), her Mother, Edna and her brother James (Sam) Cantey in a paradise beyond our knowledge and understanding. She leaves to celebrate her life and her legacy her very sad but happy husband, James Thompson, happy for having had her in my life and for being my best friend, confidant and Mother to all of our children. The children sharing in her treasured memories are sons, Reginald (Alexis) and Randall (Brittany) McLeod and James Q. and Jason T. (Tanesha) Thompson and daughters LaSonya (Jabar) Zakari and Jennifer A. E. (Scott) Fortune. Myra loved seeing and being with her grandchildren: Austin, Noah, Micah, Viviana, Brianna and Makayla Thompson, she was especially proud of the two youngest: Ava Rose and Riley Rae McLeod. We'll celebrate her life with her sisters: Elaine Brown, Jane (Napoleon) Dempsey, Elizabeth Furman and Millicent Cantey. Helping us in this endeavor will be her sister-in-law, Joan Johnson, Aunts Lula Alexander and Rebeca Mingo and Uncle Johnny Jones. Myra leaves a number of nieces and nephews who will miss her wisdom and her sense of humor. She has a number of close friends who became almost sister and brother and we know that they will miss her as we do. This family will carry on with a place at the table and in our hearts and minds for Myra.


Myra's family and friends are invited to attend her funeral service on Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 12 Noon at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 511 Knights Hill Road. The Dr. Reverend James P. Smith will preside. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. At the family's request, there will be no public viewing.