Fulton logger killed by falling tree
For more than 70 years, trees have sustained the Thompson family in south Fulton County. They have made a living from clearing land and selling timber.
But on Monday, the family was reminded again that the staple of their success has also brought them heartbreak.
John F. Thompson III, 60, died Monday when a tree fell on him outside his Chattahoochee Hills home -- the same way and the same place his father was critically injured, police said.
"His daddy was showing a man how to cut a tree down when he got killed. It's just sad that it could happen again," said Burnett Smith, whose family owns Smith Grocery in Chattahoochee Hills. "He's a big timber person and was a real nice fellow."
John Thompson III, owner of Thompson Timber, was cutting rotten pine trees in front of his home on Hutcheson Ferry Road, near Palmetto. Several members of his crew, including his son, were working alongside him, Police Chief Damon Jones said.
One of the trees Thompson had cut started to fall, but got lodged on a branch of another tree. So Thompson began cutting the other tree to free the toppled one, police said.
That's when it fell on top of him, police said.
The crew, who was busy working on other trees, didn't see the crash. They heard Thompson's chainsaw still growling and assumed he was working, Jones said.
It wasn't until about 30 minutes later -- around 10:30 a.m. -- that one of the workers found Thompson lying in the foliage, police said. He was dead.
Thompson's father, John Thompson, was cutting trees on the same property in 1987 when a log fell on his head, causing severe head trauma. He was 60, too. He remained in a vegetative state for 14 years before dying, police said.
Both of the incidents were ruled accidents, Jones said.
Dozens of family members, friends and neighbors gathered Monday afternoon at the Thompson house to remember their loved ones. Family said they are sad that Thompson's youngest child, now 3, won't know his father or grandfather.
The police cars may read Chattahoochee Hills, but to the Thompsons and Smiths, the town is still Palmetto. The community of about 4,000 people became the city of Chattahoochee Hills two years, ago but not many residents use the name.
It's still a community where a John Deer tractor is just as likely to pull up at the corner store as a Ford pickup, and where everyone knows the Thompson family is the one to call about a tree.
"His mother was one of my teachers and I went to school with his son," said Jones, the city's first police chief. "They've been doing timber all their lives."
In the days before Home Depot, Thompson's grandfather ran a portable saw mill in Palmetto. He would set up shop and sell timber to area builders.
His father took over the business and grew the logging business. John Thompson III, who started helping at the age of 12, took over after his father's death, family members said.
Thompson, his children and cousins all helped out. The business expanded, selling timber to paper mills and large lumber companies throughout the southeast. But it maintained its south Fulton roots, still selling fire wood to neighbors.
Thompson took a break from logging on Monday to do some upkeep to his own property, a 1,000-acre tract that he built his own home on, police said. His two sisters live next door, his nephew is across the street and his mother around the corner. He helped build their homes, too, family members said.
Smith said he used to see Thompson in the family grocery and at neighbor parties, where they would talk about University of Georgia football. Every year, Thompson hosted a barbecue and invited the whole town, Smith said.
"He just was that kind of guy," Smith said.
Thompson's son is expected to take over the family business.
