Terry Thomas Thompson was born in Wilson County to William Dean and Mildred Neal Thompson. He grew up with brother, William Dean Thompson, Jr. on the family farm on Central Pike in the Bairds Mill Community. The Thompson farm was home to a dairy operation, Suffolk Sheep and Duroc hogs along with crops of tobacco and hay. Terry attended Major and Flatt Rock Elementary Schools and graduated from Lebanon High School in 1970. He was active in the FFA serving as an officer and earned his State and American FFA Farmer Degrees. He was also recognized as Star Farmer of Middle Tennessee during his senior year.
Terry then attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville graduating with a Bachelor of Science for Dairy Science and Production in 1974. His summers were devoted in helping William Dean and wife, Nelda on the dairy farm. In 1975, Terry married Nell Scott and began working for Brown Milling Company of Gallatin as an outside salesman in Wilson and Sumner Counties. He also was raising beef cattle and harvesting hay, gardening and growing fresh corn for the farmers market. In 1976 Terry was hired by the Wilson County School Board of Education to be the new Vocational Agriculture teacher at Watertown High School. Terry says the worst headache he ever had was his first day of teaching, but things did get better. He feels that he was blessed throughout the years to have good students which included students from farms and students who lived in town. Students, parents, grandparents, and the community were always supportive of the FFA chapter and its activities. Teaching and mentoring students are a source of great enjoyment when they grow and become successful at all levels of life.
One of Terry’s passions is the love of the land and raising livestock. He and his family raised and sold produce at the farmers market for 35 years. He gives A.C. Hill the credit for getting him interested in growing sweet corn and tomatoes. Terry, Nell, and their family have worked very hard raising tobacco, sows, feeder pigs, beef calves and 25 acres of corn. Now they raise feeder calves, a family garden, and make homemade country sausage. Their favorite activity is watching the grandchildren grow. Terry humbly acknowledges that his 40-year successful teaching and administration career at Watertown High School was due to his principal and mentor, John D. Johnson, and principals Rick Martin and Jeff Luttrell and all the faculty members that supported Agricultural Education and FFA.
