AME Zion Bishop Richard Thompson Dies at 73

Bishop Richard Keith Thompson, a longtime religious leader in Washington, D.C., and in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church, has died. He was 73.

Bishop Richard Keith Thompson

Thompson died at his home July 16 after months-long illness, according to church leaders familiar with the circumstances.

“The Board of Bishops along with the entire A.M.E. Zion Church Family are in sadness over the passing of Bishop Richard K. Thompson,” the denomination said in a statement on its website. “Please be in prayer for his family, his district, and for all of the lives that he touched.”

Thompson’s death comes just days before the church’s 50th Quadrennial Conference, which will be held in Greensboro, N.C., from July 20-26. According to sources, the bishop was set to retire during the conclave. He is the third A.M.E. Zion bishop to die since the last quadrennial gathering—Bishop James McCoy died in November 2012 and Bishop Roy Holmes died May 2013.

Born July 7, 1943, in Kannapolis, N.C., Thompson graduated from the city’s George Washington Carver High School. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Livingstone College in 1965 and a master’s of divinity degree from Hood Theological Seminary in 1968.

For two decades, Thompson pastored the Trinity AME Zion Church, located on 16th Street in the District. Then, during the church’s 44th General Conference in 1992, Thompson was elected the 86th bishop of the denomination.

At the time of his death, he was the presiding prelate of the Mid-Atlantic II Episcopal District, which includes Maryland, D.C., Virginia, East Tennessee, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Bishop Thompson is survived by his wife, Georgia M. Thompson; their two children and four grandchildren.

Dear Mid-Atlantic II:

The Celebration of Life Service for Bishop Richard Keith Thompson will take place on Monday, July 25, 2016 at Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 3505 – 16th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20010. The Family Visitation time is 9:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. and the Celebration of Life Service will follow at11:00 A.M.

Expressions of condolences may be sent to Mrs. Georgia M. Thompson, 1420 Missouri Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20011.
In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that contributions be made to the Bishop Richard K. Thompson Endowment Scholarship at Hood Theological Seminary, 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive, Salisbury, North Carolina 28114.

Funeral Services have been entrusted to McGuire Funeral Home
7400 Georgia Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20012
(202) 882-6600