Morris Thompson

Morris "Morrie" Thompson (September 11, 1939 – January 31, 2000) was an Alaska Native leader, American businessman and political appointee working on matters related to Alaska Natives. the son of Warren H. Thompson, a white American originally from Indiana, and his wife Alice (née Grant), a Koyukon Athabaskan. Thompson graduated from Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka and attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks as a civil engineering major. "Morrie" married Thelma Mayo of Rampart on October 5, 1963 in Tanana,

In 1966, Thompson met Walter Hickel, an Anchorage businessman who was running for governor at the time; Morris volunteered to work on Hickel's campaign in Fairbanks and the Interior. As a result, Thompson became Governor Hickel's deputy director of the Rural Development Agency. The next year as executive director of Hickel's North Commission, Thompson began working on a network of transportation routes to open rural Alaska to development.

Death

At 60 years of age, a resident of Fairbanks, Thompson retired as the President of Doyon. To celebrate his retirement, he went on vacation with his wife Thelma and his daughter Sheryl to Mexico. He died with his wife and daughter in the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 on January 31, 2000, while flying back to the United States.

Thompson's body was buried in Tanana.

Advance fee fraud (419, Nigerian scam) con men used Thompson's name in various scams unrelated to Thompson.

Legacy

The Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center, located at 101 Dunkel Street in downtown Fairbanks and dedicated on August 12, 2008, is named after Thompson.

The Morris Thompson Golf Classic is an annual fundraiser established and hosted by Doyon Foundation. It honors the memory of the late Morris Thompson while raising money for the memorial scholarship fund in his name. Since inception, the event has funded 209 scholarships totaling $515,180.