Bill Thompson III, Editor/Publisher of Bird Watcher’s Digest, is a beloved figure in the birding world; a devoted father to Phoebe, 22, and Liam, 19; a writer of both words and songs; a gifted musician and endlessly creative thinker. He lives large and goes hard. After suffering severe stomach pain since mid-October, Bill was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer on December 16, 2018. As of Christmas, he’s not a candidate for surgery; the cancer has spread in his lower abdomen; and he is set to start chemotherapy soon. The life force in this one is strong, and he’s young and otherwise healthy, so now we fight. Of course, we hope for remission; we hope for anything for this man we love so fiercely.
Wendy Clark, Bill’s beloved partner, is taking the brunt of informing herself and managing Bill’s day to day care. She will be posting updates here. Wendy and Bill live in a farmhouse 1/3 mile from Indigo Hill, where Julie continues to live. Setting up a homestead nearby was Bill’s way to keep his connection to his children and our land strong.
To be honest, entering a diagnosis like this is like being sucked down a terrifying whirlpool. What we don’t yet know is everything. We do know that it’s going to be expensive. So for all the people who’ve written, “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know!” we have a GoFundMe link on Bill’s “Ways to Help” page.
PLEASE NOTE: Directly below Bill’s story here, there is a donation plea. Funds given there will support CaringBridge, NOT Bill.
To support Bill:
https://www.gofundme.com/helpbt3Comments and well-wishes left on this CaringBridge site are public. If that’s not your style, or you’d like to write something more, we’ve set up a direct email here: bt3.updates@gmail.com
Cards and letters can be mailed to:
Bill Thompson III and Wendy Clark
700 Scotts Ridge Rd.
Whipple OH 45788
