Clown laid to rest with highest honour from peers

Norman Thompson considered cheering people up his duty.

As a Shriner and member of the Antioch Shrine Funster Clown Unit for 15 years, Thompson took his work seriously.

The clown unit specializes in eliciting smiles from and comforting children who are burn victims or have orthopedic problems.



By all accounts, Thompson, also known as “Boppo,” was good at what he did with a great sense of humour and a ready smile.

Thompson, 79, died on Monday, May 25.

He was buried on Friday, May 29, with the highest honour a clown can receive: he was “carried to his resting spot by his fellow clowns,” said Mick (Willie the Clown) Lile, the Funsters’ director known informally as the boss clown.

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