Larry Thompson (humorist)

Thompson wrote three books.^[11] The first was about the family's Siamese cat, "Life With Caesar."^{[12][13][14][15]} The second book was "Hogs Under My Bed" ^[16] which chronicled the family’s camping trip one summer through Florida, including one night when wild pigs slept under the Thompson’s tent trailer during a rain storm, hence the title.^[17] The third book, "Life With Larry Thompson," ^[18] a collection of Thompson’s most popular columns, was published posthumously in 1975.^[19]

Thompson's columns, especially tales of his family's cross-country camping trips each summer, were often reprinted in newspapers throughout America^[20][21] and in the United States Congressional Record.^[22]

On February 18, 1973 at the age of 61, Thompson died ^[23] of emphysema. Thompson’s wife, Penny, died at 57 from acute leukemia in 1975.^[24] The Metro Dade County Commission voted to name a 270-acre park/campground in their honor --- the Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park^[25] located in Miami next to Zoo Miami. In 2012, son Carl Thompson donated Larry Thompson's typewriter used to write his columns along with photographs and other family memorabilia to the campground at the 35th anniversary of the park's dedication.^[26] These are on permanent display in the campground office.^[27] In 2015, Thompson was inducted into the Florida Newspaper Hall of Fame.^[28]