A Sad and Joyful Farewell for Slain Minister

Filling the small Santa Ana church where he had taught Sunday School, more than 350 mourners wept and prayed Thursday during a memorial service for David Eugene Thompson, who was shot in the head by robbers last week in South-Central Los Angeles as his wife looked on.

Throughout the service, church leaders asked mourners to forgive the killers.

Fighting back tears, many in the overflow crowd held hands, chanted prayers, clapped and sang along with the choir at Greater Zion Apostolic Church in Santa Ana, where Thompson, of Tustin, was an elder.

The 28-year-old minister and postal employee was eulogized as a “God-fearing man” and a “dedicated teacher” who was killed trying to help others. Choruses of “Amen” were heard frequently. Many in the crowd were both sad and joyful during the service, which was called a “homegoing” for Thompson, the father of two young sons.

“We’re all going to miss him, and we’re all sad,” said Regina Dotson, 27, a church member. “But he’s going to a better place. And he doesn’t have to go through the trials and tests here.”

The Santa Ana church, which was founded about 10 years ago, had never had a funeral for a member of its congregation, Dotson said.

Thompson and his wife, Namora, stopped at a service station in South-Central Los Angeles last Thursday night to get help for church members whose bus had broken down, police said. The couple were approached by three males who robbed them of $30 and then shot Thompson in the head.

Tracy Lavell Carter, 18, and Todd Lavera, 22, both of South-Central Los Angeles, were charged Thursday with two counts of murder each for the slayings of Thompson and custodian Leopoldo Salgado, 48, of Los Angeles, who was robbed and killed later in the evening.

Carter and Lavera also were charged with robbery and attempted robbery. A 16-year-old boy, who also was arrested in connection with the killings, has been turned over to juvenile authorities.

During the two-hour memorial service, Carl W. Stewart, who presided at the ceremony, condemned the actions of Thompson’s killers and said they were not “saved.”

“You may shoot me down, but I’m still saved by God,” Stewart said.

The Bible tells the people to forgive, said Sonja Blue, a 20-year-old church member.

“I don’t hate them,” Blue said. “You just can’t hate people. I just hate what they did.”

But others were bitter and said it was going to be hard to forgive the killers.

“It’s hard not to want justice and revenge,” said a church member who asked not to be identified. “With the Bible, we know we can’t hate. But just feel sorry for all that has been done. But the question is, ‘Why him? What was the reasoning?’ ”

Served in Marine Corps

After the service, mourners walked slowly past Thompson’s coffin, which was draped with a flag because Thompson had served in the Marine Corps. Several paused next to the coffin with tear-filled eyes, whispering goodby, while others just shook their heads.

Thompson’s widow lingered for several seconds next to the coffin, quietly weeping. When the coffin was closed, Namora Thompson and her mother-in-law, Catherine Thompson, broke into heavy sobbing and had to be assisted out of the church.

About 50 cars made up the funeral procession to Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, where Thompson was buried.

“I’m going to miss him,” said Edward Moore, a truck driver who said he worked with Thompson and remembers keeping him company after late-night shifts. “He was always there for me, on time and smiling. I’m going to miss him.”

In addition to his wife and mother, Thompson is survived by two sons, David Jr., 3, and Michael, 2; his father, Herbert, and four brothers and two sisters.