ASHEVILLE - Chester Thompson, also affectionately
known as: Chesteroni, My Mister, Mouth, Mouthy, Mouthy Cat, Chet, &
Chessercat, of Asheville, NC passed away peacefully Wednesday, June 25th
attended to by his vet and two loving parents, after a brief illness. He was 14
years old.
Born into a litter of 6 in a Canton,
NY barn, Chester was rescued from barn-cat life by a succession of Thompson
family members, eventually becoming the full-time fur baby of Kira Thompson,
originally of Saranac Lake, NY.
Chester enjoyed a quiet rural upbringing
in the northern Adirondack Mountains, sharing, for more than a decade, a small
home with his sister and mother. There, he enjoyed chasing tethered balls and
laser lights as well as bugs, mice, and the occasional squirrel. Winters being
frigid so far North, he and his family were great fans of long, snuggly naps.
It was during these naps that he cultivated the habit of holding his mother’s
finger with his paw, as well as perfecting many creative human-waking
techniques such as yowling in the face, headbutting, jumping on full-bladdered abdomens,
and pawing at the face, ears, & hair.
Later in life, in addition to
successfully uprooting to North Carolina, Chester took on many new challenges. He
grudgingly tolerated being driven from his native northern climes to the
mountains 900 miles away in a rented Nissan Altima. Subsequently, he only
slightly impatiently endured one roundtrip journey to visit the old homestead,
during which he came to appreciate hotel rooms and the luxurious roominess of a
mini-van. He overcame his fear of children to happily co-habitate with human-sisters
Maris & Gillian, whom he periodically invited to pet him. Chester learned
about stairs and embraced central air conditioning with gusto.
These
late-in-life changes, combined with a cat-walking phase inspired by his mother’s
purchase of a fancy harness in Thailand, may have awakened a wild spirit in him,
as, in his golden years, Chester was
known to take on surprising levels of adventure. He relished taunting and physically
confronting his much younger adopted fur-brother, Ozzie, who, as a canine,
outweighed him by at least 50 pounds. Chester also set forth, unannounced, on a
3-week sojourn in the wilds surrounding the Smoky Mountain National Forest near
his new home in Asheville. Whether in search of meditative self-discovery or sheer thrills, no
one ever was told of his whereabouts or experiences during that absence.
Upon returning, Chester, as was his
nature, recovered physically and calmly returned to peaceful domesticity. His
final years were spent enjoying the fruits of a well-spent life. Among his
greatest pleasures were sharpening his claws on the cardboard affectionately dubbed his ‘scratchy
slut’ or surreptitiously spying on birds from a windowsill perch – especially if
the window was open. Many sunny afternoons were spent on his extra wide windowsill
cat perch soaking up the sun, just gazing at the nearby bird feeder. Chester
was all about spreading the love (and fur). He graced each family member
equally by regularly ensconcing himself in their personal spaces. Some
favorites included: curling up against the pillows of his mothers’ (ivory
linened) bed, coiling at the foot of Gillian’s bed closest to the window, and
hunkering beneath the blanket-draped papasan chair in Maris’ room. He very much
enjoyed slurping the gravy off of his daily treat of canned food at “breakfast
time”. Chester will be fondly remembered for loudly and emphatically declaring ‘breakfast
time” at any hour he damn well pleased by climbing on his sleeping mother’s
chest, yowling and headbutting her face.
Perhaps the most precious memories
will be of Chesteroni insistently signaling bedtime by demanding his 3-5 second
nightly pet session while posed upon his mother’s chest. He would then curl up beside
her head, in the nest she strategically constructed every night of their lives
together. A body pillow set at just the right distance from and angle to her
own pillow formed a sacred space, lined with a fresh fur-catching cloth, where
he slept nightly, not one breath from her.
Chester was predeceased by his
beloved sister, Smooch (aka: Peepee) with whom he shared a home in Sugarbush,
NY for her 11 years of life. He is survived by human-sisters Maris and Gillian;
fur-brother, Ozzie; adopted Mama, Mary Lynn; and his Mommy, Kira as well as
innumerable loving friends along the east coast and throughout cyber space.
In keeping with his characteristic
charm, Chester passed on wearing his accustomed tuxedo with white whiskers. He
no doubt would have liked to express appreciation to his maternal grandparents:
Bob & Janet Simonson, of Saranac Lake, NY and Rick Thompson, of Lake Clear,
NY for their loving care of him throughout his life. Thanks also to his many
caregivers and friends, especially: Carey Cook, Dr. Cindy Feiler, Kelley Mihok,
Jessica Pepper, Dr. Heather Sinclair, Eric Thompson, Meiko Xavier, and the
caring staff at Haw Creek Animal Hospital.
An intimate honoring ceremony will take place
this Friday evening at Papa’s & Beer on Tunnel Road in Asheville. Memorial
services will take place in both Asheville and Saranac Lake at future dates yet
to be decided. Memorial donations are suggested to: Asheville Humane Society,
14 Forever Friend Lane, Asheville, NC 28806. (828) 761-2001
