It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of Alan Thompson’s passing, a dedicated newswriter and producer at CBS Chicago who was greatly admired by many.
Thompson lost his battle with esophageal cancer on Sunday, July 20, making him 63 years old.
Born on April 19, 1962, in Kansas City, Kansas, to teachers Max and Marjorie, Alan grew up in Bonner Springs, Kansas, and Davenport, Iowa, where he graduated from Davenport Central High School in 1980.
His obituary reveals that sports were an early passion for Thompson. He quickly became a fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks, as well as the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Golf also captured his interest at a young age, and he played throughout his life. Additionally, he showed an early interest in broadcasting when he and his brother created their own “radio shows” at home.
Alan and his brother would take turns being the DJ with real vinyl records, crafting newscasts and commercials, even recording their playful shows on cassette tapes!
Thompson graduated in 1984 from the University of Iowa with a journalism degree. During his college years, he worked at WSUI radio and KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids. His remarkable career included stops across the country, with notable positions in Muscatine, West Virginia; the Quad Cities; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Columbus, Ohio; Tampa, Florida; Des Moines, Iowa; Huntington, West Virginia; and Greensboro, North Carolina.
In 1998, Alan joined CBS Chicago, then known as Channel 2, as a morning newswriter and producer. He collaborated with many well-liked morning anchors, including notable husband-and-wife duo Jay Levine and Mary Ann Childers, along with the close-knit team of Roseanne Tellez, the late Randy Salerno, meteorologist Ed Curran, traffic anchor Susan Carlson, and entertainment reporter Bill Zwecker.
He was loved in the newsroom for his sharp wit, kindness, and exceptional talent.
In his tribute, colleagues noted that Alan’s work ethic inspired many, and he generously shared his knowledge with younger writers, brightening their days with humorous stories and his lively catchphrase, “All right everybody, let’s look alive!”
Whenever concentration was needed, Alan would often pose a question to himself and his colleagues: “Why am I here? What am I doing?”
He was part of a team that won the Emmy Award not once, but twice, in both 2014 and 2021.
As he celebrated 25 years with CBS News Chicago in 2023, Thompson reminisced, saying, “As a kid, I dreamed of typing on one of Walter Cronkite’s CBS typewriters. Now, I do!”
Alan met his loving wife, Beth Mengel, on eHarmony in 2005 and they married the next year, bonding over their mutual fondness for cats. Together, they embraced family life, with Alan helping to raise Beth’s two children, Bethany and Cody.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Beth; their children, Bethany Uriostegui (married to Joe Saltarelli) from Chicago, and Cody Uriostegui (partnered with Chanel Roche) from Los Angeles; his brother, Gary Thompson (with Kris) from Urbandale, Iowa; a nephew, John Thompson from Des Moines, Iowa; along with nieces Grace and Emma Haney from West Des Moines, Iowa.
