Biography:

Martha Lynn Oathout Thompson, a long-time resident of Little Rock, died on August 3, 2026.  She was born in Little Rock, AR in 1940, was a graduate of Little Rock Central High School and of Henderson State University where she received her Bachelor of Music Education degree.  For 5 years she taught choral music at Ridgeroad Junior High School, and she and her husband, Felix, developed a choral and handbell program at the Methodist Children’s Home in Little Rock.  In 1970, she became the first Organist and Associate Director of Music of St. James United Methodist Church, Little Rock, and served in that capacity until her retirement in 2002.  In her retirement she continued to direct adult handbell choirs as a volunteer and to do free lance music engraving.

She was a member of St. James UMC, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and for many years was a member of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music, Worship, and the Arts, The American Guild of Organists, Choristers Guild, and The Handbell Musicians of America.

Martha Lynn has hundreds of published handbell arrangements and transcriptions that range from music for the beginning bell choir to music for the most advanced choirs.  She was one of the first arrangers to transcribe symphonic works for handbell choirs.  She served as National Secretary of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers from 1989 to 1991.  In 2001 she was given the Honorary Lifetime Membership status by the AGEHR.  In 2011 she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Henderson State University.

Mrs. Thompson was preceded in death by her parents, Helen and Walter Oathout, and her husband George Felix Thompson, Jr., and survived by one brother, James Marshall Oathout (Edie). 

A service of celebration will be held in the sanctuary of St. James UMC on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 11:00am.  Internment will be in the St. James columbarium.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Thompson Scholarship Fund of St. James UMC, 321 Pleasant Valley Dr., Little Rock, AR 72212. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com.