Janis Marie Thompson

Janis Marie Thompson, 55, died May 27th at her home in Leesburg. She was a daughter of Lt. Col. Wyles L. Thompson (USAF-Ret.) and Billye Jean Thompson, born on November 28, 1960 in Orlando, Florida. As an "Air Force brat," she was raised and educated in a number of places, graduating from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, and Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida.

She began her career in the zoo profession at the Aububon Zoo in New Orleans, and later joined the staff of Chehaw Wild Animal Park in Albany, where she became Curator in 2004. During that time, she completed a Bachelor's degree at Albany State University and a Master's degree at George Mason University. Among her significant contributions at Chehaw were the successful release into the wild of the first bald eagle bred in captivity, the development of the emblematic cheetah exhibit, and design and creation of the multi-species lemur exhibit, the first of its kind in the U.S.

She was pre-deceased by both parents, and is survived by a brother, Alan B. Thompson and his wife, Shelley, a sister, Andrea Thompson McCall and her husband, John, three nieces, Jamie Thompson, Jackie Thompson Spurlock, and Jennifer Thompson Boehmer, and a nephew, Benjamin Thompson McCall.

A private memorial is being held, and donations in Jan's honor may be made to Chehaw Wild Animal Park or the Lee County Animal Shelter.