Community gives back to beloved coach with aggressive disease

The house in South Weber is a sprawling masterpiece of simplicity from the outside, with a simple pale brick lookalike facade and a nicely groomed yard. You have to peek inside to see that it’s actually huge, with six bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms, built on two levels.

Out back, there’s a large yard, half hardtop and half grass, with young vegetation that will fill in faster than the kids who will soon live here can finish growing up.

The two-car garage is big enough to hold a ceremony or host a party — and it did both Friday morning.

But it’s in the study, a shelved nook off the open living room and kitchen, that you realize what the house actually is.

It’s a love letter. And it’s addressed to a former high school football coach — first at Northridge High School and later at Ogden High — and his wife and three sons.

Erik Thompson recently retired from coaching, albeit reluctantly. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — ALS — in 2021. The neurodegenerative disease has progressed and he now requires a wheelchair full time for mobility. He no longer has use of his right arm and other abilities are slipping away, including speaking, swallowing and even breathing. His wife, Skye, is a dental hygienist who works part-time and juggles care for her husband of 22 years and their sons, Kire (who’s on a mission for his church), Jack, who’s a junior at Ogden High and Kael, who’s 14 and attends middle school.

Community project

The home was built by Nilson Homes, in conjunction with The Have a Heart Foundation, the Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors and the Northern Wasatch Homebuilders Association. Since 1998, the foundation, the builders and the realtors have teamed up to help families with a particular need get into an affordable home that’s tailored to their special circumstance. The combination of discounted services and products, some community donations and other philanthropy have created a house that will accommodate the Thompson family’s shifting needs, while also honoring how much they’ve given to their community.

The house will be part of Erik Thompson’s legacy, speakers said, noting the professionals crafted a lovely house and the family itself will turn it into a home.

Jed Nilson, president and owner of Nilson Homes in South Ogden, cried when he talked about meeting the family and going back again and again because — like family and friends and those the Thompsons have known through work, church and play — he came to love them.

“I heard about a man in South Weber everyone loves,” he said. Then he met the family and “kept coming back.” He added, “I’ve fallen in love with them.”

Thompson butterfly effect

Nilson talked about the “butterfly effect” that surrounds the Thompsons: If enough butterflies flap their wings, it creates weather changes even far away. The Thompsons have done so much for their communities that the blessings they’ve bestowed are flowing back to them, he said.

The combined groups involved with Have a Heart Homes work tirelessly to raise money and find projects to make a difference in the community. They “worked tirelessly and with even more love on this home,” Nilson said. He talked about the unsolicited comments he heard from strangers who said they’d heard Nilson Homes and the others were thinking about doing something for the Thompsons. They shared story after story of what the Thompsons had done for others in the community.

Skye Thompson thanked the dozens of people packed in her new garage, noting that their financial burdens on the house were being made easier as they dealt with medical financial burdens, too.

Right before Nilson and his dad and company founder Bruce Nilson presented the family with the keys to their new home, Erik Thompson whispered something to his wife and she relayed it. “Erik said thanks to our savior.” She said they’re praying for healing, but have already seen many abundant blessings as they’ve made the unexpected journey with his disease.

She also invited the dozens gathered to tour the house and take some of the little goodies she’d left on the kitchen counter. They included softball caps labeled Thompson Tough, with the subhead that “fate loves the fearless heart” and stickers that read, “In this F.A.M.I.L.Y. no one fights alone.”

While most of the rooms were empty, that den was packed with sports memorabilia and photographs of the family over the years. There’s a plaque on a stand from 1989 that declares Erik Thompson the most valuable receiver at Roy High School. And another from the Ogden School District from 2020 to 2021, when Erik was Teacher of the Year. There’s simply too much to take it all in.

Love letters.

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