The Ash-Thompson and Ash families announce with deep sadness the loss of Judge Luvenia V. Ash-Thompson, who passed away on Monday, November 10, 2025, in Maryland, the United States of America.
Judge Ash-Thompson led a remarkable life of service to her country, Liberia, which she ably served as Judge of the Monthly and Probate Court for eight years. A trailblazer, Judge Ash-Thompson was also the first female to hold several key positions in the executive branch of government, including Acting Minister of Labor, Assistant Minister of Labor for Labor Standards, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, and Legal Advisor to the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, now the Ministry of Agriculture. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company.
She had the distinction of serving as Legal Advisor to Dr. Amos Sawyer in his capacity as President of the Interim Government of National Unity.\
The late Judge Ash-Thompson also held prominent positions in academia, including Assistant Professor of Law, and the first female Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia where she had the privilege of teaching five of Liberia’s chief justices, who all affectionately called her “Prof.” Additionally, she served as Vice President for Administration/Resource Mobilization of the University of Liberia.
Judge Ash-Thompson also had the great honor of serving as the National Orator for the one hundred and forty-fifth Independence Anniversary of Liberia on July 26, 1992. She represented her country at several major international conferences between 1975 and 1979, including the International Labor Organization Annual Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Lott Carey Baptist and Educational Convention, in Washington DC.
She was an active member of the Liberia National Bar Association and the Female Lawyers Association of Liberia, as well as the Liberian Women Political Association, and the Liberian Teachers Association.
As a direct result of her distinguished service to Liberia and the international community, Judge Ash-Thompson received many honors and awards, including an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Franklin College, in Franklin, Indiana (1988) USA, alongside former United States Vice President, Dan Quayle. She was also awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the Maryland State House of Delegates in the United States for her contributions in the field of education, and she received the Judge of the Year Award from the Press Union of Liberia.
Judge Ash-Thompson obtained her primary and secondary education from the Lott Carey Baptist Mission School in Browerville, Liberia. After High School, she briefly attended the University of Liberia, and matriculated to Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, the United States, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Political Science/Speech. She went on to attain a Bachelor of Law degree and a Juris Doctor degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, graduating with high honors, the only black female in her class.
Judge Ash-Thompson displayed enormous courage and stood by her principles even under trying circumstances. When supporters of Liberian President Samuel Doe objected to the registration of the Liberian Action Party, a rival political party in April 1985, Judge Ash-Thompson ruled against them claiming their objections were “nothing more than legal mischief which […] would result in upsetting and delaying the due process of law”. West Africa magazine honored her as Judge of the year, and she was featured on the cover of the magazine.
In 1985, Judge Ash-Thompson established a private school, the Ash-Thompson Memorial Academy (ATMA), in honor of her late husband James Lormer Thompson Sr., and her late father James Benjamin Ash. ATMA’s motto is “Academic Excellence and Integrity” which embodies the very thing she stood for throughout her life.
Judge Ash-Thompson was born on July 16 to the union of James Benjamin Ash and Theresa Rebecca Anderson-Ash, in Brewersville, Montserrado County.
She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, James Lormer Thompson, her son James Lormer Thompson II (Jimmy), her siblings Susan Rebecca Ash-Divine, Dinah Ash, Ida Ash-Cooper, Eudora Ash, Boima K. Sando, and Evelyn Ash-Curry.
She leaves to mourn her death her daughters Jimrevenia Mala Thompson, Yatta U. Thompson Quire (Robert), her grandchildren Quortney V.E. Moulton, Benjamin A. Thompson, Gregory K. Quire, Xenia M. Quire, Sydney M. Thompson, and her sister Angeline Ash-Darwin (Philip), several nieces, and nephews, and a host of other relatives and friends around the world.
