Some people live for many years and leave behind beautiful memories. Others are given far less time, yet somehow touch more lives than anyone could imagine. Jane McAdams “Janey” Thompson was one of those people.
When people search for “Janey Thompson obituary Charlotte NC,” they are often trying to understand who Janey was, what happened to her, and why so many people in Charlotte and at Wake Forest University continue to remember her.
Janey was only 20 years old when she died on April 9, 2024, following complications from a blood clot. She was a sophomore at Wake Forest University, where she studied biophysics, played club basketball, joined campus organizations, and built close friendships.
But Janey’s story is much bigger than the sad day she died.
She was a daughter, a sister, a student, an athlete, a friend, and someone remembered for bringing happiness into the lives of people around her.
Who Was Janey Thompson?
Janey’s full name was Jane McAdams Thompson, although almost everyone knew her as Janey Thompson.
She was born on October 19, 2003, and grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her parents are Bo Thompson and Scottie Thompson, and she had a younger brother named Hank Thompson. Her obituary lovingly described Hank as her “built-in best friend.”
Her father, Bo Thompson, is well known to many people in Charlotte because of his work as a radio host on WBT.
That public connection meant news of Janey’s death reached many people who had never personally met her.
But those who actually knew Janey remembered something much more personal.
They remembered her energy.
They remembered her smile.
They remembered how hard she worked.
And most importantly, they remembered how she made other people feel.
Janey Thompson Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jane McAdams “Janey” Thompson |
| Born | October 19, 2003 |
| Died | April 9, 2024 |
| Age | 20 years old |
| Hometown | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Parents | Bo Thompson and Scottie Thompson |
| Brother | Hank Thompson |
| High School | Myers Park High School |
| University | Wake Forest University |
| Major | Biophysics |
| Interests | Basketball, softball, music, academics |
| Known For | Student, athlete, volunteer, daughter of WBT host Bo Thompson |
What Happened to Janey Thompson?
The hardest part of the Janey Thompson obituary Charlotte NC story is understanding how someone so young could suddenly die.
According to her published obituary and reports from Wake Forest University and Charlotte media, Janey suffered complications from a blood clot in her leg that traveled to her heart. She died on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
She was just 20.
The news was shocking because Janey had been an active young woman.
She played sports.
She attended college.
She had friends and activities.
She was working toward her future.
Then everything changed incredibly quickly.
Wake Forest University announced her death to students, faculty, and families and expressed condolences to Janey’s loved ones and everyone on campus who knew her.
Janey Was a Wake Forest University Student
Janey was attending Wake Forest University when she died.
She was in her second year of college and was studying biophysics.
That may sound like a difficult word, so let’s make it simple.
Biophysics combines ideas from biology and physics to help us understand how living things work.
It is not an easy subject.
Janey’s success in the field showed how seriously she took her education.
She received the Randall D. Ledford Scholarship in Physics and the Porter B. Byrum Scholarship, and Wake Forest later noted that she regularly earned recognition on the dean’s list.
But Janey was not someone who spent every moment sitting with a textbook.
She enjoyed many different parts of college life.
She Loved Basketball
Basketball was a big part of Janey’s story.
At Wake Forest, she was active with the women’s club basketball team.
For Janey, basketball was more than simply throwing a ball through a hoop.
It brought together teamwork, competition, friendship, and fun.
That love of basketball became especially important after her death.
Her friends eventually found a beautiful way to connect Janey’s two major interests: basketball and physics.
More on that shortly.
Janey’s Life at Myers Park High School
Before Wake Forest, Janey attended Myers Park High School in Charlotte.
She graduated in 2022.
Sports were already an important part of her life there.
Janey played both varsity basketball and softball. Wake Forest later described her as an all-conference basketball player and said she was named Myers Park’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2022.
That tells us something important about her.
Janey was not simply someone who joined a team.
She worked hard enough to stand out.
And sports were not her only interest.
According to a later tribute, she also played clarinet in Myers Park’s wind ensemble and jazz band.
Think about that for a moment.
Science.
Basketball.
Softball.
Music.
Janey seemed interested in experiencing as much of life as she could.
Her College Life Was Full of Activity
Janey joined several organizations while studying at Wake Forest.
She was connected with the National Society of Physics Students, Sigma Pi Sigma, and Delta Delta Delta sorority. She was also involved with women’s club basketball and Wake Radio.
These activities help explain why her death affected so many different groups of people.
She wasn’t known only by students in her classes.
She had teammates.
Sorority sisters.
Friends.
Teachers.
People from the physics community.
People from Charlotte.
And people who knew her family through WBT Radio.
Her life connected many different circles.
Janey Also Gave Her Time to Others
One of the most meaningful details about Janey is that she made time to help people.
WCCB reported that she volunteered with the Isabella Santos Foundation and worked as a student assistant with a Footbridge clinic that provided free dental care to local veterans.
These details may look small when written on a page.
But they tell us something bigger.
Janey was busy with college work and sports, yet she still found time to do things that could help other people.
That is often how someone’s character is remembered.
Not through one giant moment.
But through many small choices.
Who Are Janey Thompson’s Parents?
Janey was the daughter of Bo Thompson and Scottie Thompson.
Bo Thompson is familiar to Charlotte radio listeners through his work on WBT.
Janey’s brother is Hank Thompson.
Her obituary shows that she was surrounded by a large extended family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
There was also another family member mentioned in her obituary that many readers may smile about: her dog, Phyllis.
It is a small detail, but those little details often make an obituary feel more human.
Bo Thompson’s Emotional Tribute to His Daughter
A few days after Janey died, her father returned to WBT.
It was understandably an emotional moment.
Bo spoke about his daughter and the way she looked at other people. According to Axios Charlotte, Janey often described people as “super nice.”
Bo explained that he wanted to live in a way that Janey would have been proud of.
That idea is simple but powerful.
When someone we love is gone, we cannot bring them back.
But we can sometimes carry part of them forward through the way we live.
For Bo and the people closest to Janey, that became one way of keeping her memory alive.
How Charlotte Responded to Janey’s Death
The news quickly spread across Charlotte.
WBT and Radio One shared their sadness and said they would support Bo and his family during the difficult time.
Myers Park High School also remembered Janey and noted that she had been loved by many students and staff members.
Wake Forest responded as a community too.
The university opened spaces where students could gather, remember Janey, and support each other. Counselors and chaplains were also made available.
This was more than the loss of one student.
For many people, it felt like losing a teammate, classmate, friend, daughter, sister, or familiar face.
Janey Thompson’s Memorial Service
A memorial service for Janey was held on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at 2 p.m. at Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte.
A reception followed.
There was also one very personal request.
People who had been Janey’s teammates were encouraged to wear their jerseys.
That request says a great deal about how her family wanted Janey to be remembered.
Not only through sadness.
But through something she loved.
Sports.
Teamwork.
And the people who shared those experiences with her.
“Jam for Janey” Turned Grief Into Something Positive
Janey’s story did not end with her memorial service.
Her friends created something called Jam for Janey, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Wake Forest University.
The idea brought together two things Janey cared deeply about: basketball and physics.
Students could play basketball while helping raise money connected with physics scholarships.
The event became an annual tradition.
That is a remarkable way to remember someone.
Instead of allowing Janey’s name to exist only beside a date of death, her friends connected it with laughter, teams, basketball, education, and opportunity.
Janey’s Legacy Is Still Growing
Years after Janey died, the tradition continued.
In April 2026, Wake Forest reported that the year’s Jam for Janey event raised $89,771.28 toward the Janey Thompson Physics Scholarship.
Another Wake Forest report says event founder Maddie Shannon and her friends had raised more than $130,000 toward endowing a scholarship in Janey’s name.
That means students who never personally met Janey can still be helped because of her.
Think about how special that is.
A future physics student may receive financial support.
That student may study something important.
They may go on to do incredible work.
And somewhere in that story will be the name Janey Thompson.
That is a legacy.
Why So Many People Search for the Janey Thompson Obituary in Charlotte, NC
There are several reasons this story continues to attract attention.
Janey was the daughter of a well-known Charlotte radio host.
She was an accomplished young student.
She was a talented athlete.
Her death happened suddenly.
And people who loved her have continued doing meaningful things in her memory.
But perhaps the biggest reason is simpler.
People connect with stories about people.
When we read about someone who was only 20 and had so many plans ahead of her, it reminds us how valuable time really is.
We begin thinking about our own family.
Our own friends.
Our own dreams.
And the people we may sometimes forget to appreciate.
What Made Janey Special?
It would be easy to describe Janey only through achievements.
Good grades.
Scholarships.
Basketball.
Softball.
College organizations.
Those things certainly mattered.
But they do not completely explain why people continue remembering her.
Her friends and family repeatedly described someone who brought joy to others.
Someone who cared about her teammates.
Someone who worked hard.
Someone who saw good things in the people around her.
That is much harder to put on a certificate.
Yet it may be the most important achievement of all.
A Life That Was Short but Meaningful
Twenty years is far too short.
Janey had more classes to take.
More basketball games to play.
More birthdays to celebrate.
More places to visit.
More people to meet.
No article can change what happened.
But an obituary can do something important.
It can make sure a person’s story is not reduced to the fact that they died.
Janey Thompson was more than the tragedy that ended her life.
She was a young woman who loved her family, studied a difficult subject, competed in sports, helped other people, and formed friendships strong enough that her friends continue celebrating her years later.
Final Thoughts
The story behind Janey Thompson obituary Charlotte NC is deeply sad, but it is also filled with love.
Jane McAdams “Janey” Thompson died on April 9, 2024, at only 20 years old after complications from a blood clot. She left behind her parents, Bo and Scottie Thompson, her brother Hank, extended family, teammates, classmates, teachers, and many friends.
Yet her name continues to live on at Wake Forest.
Students still gather.
Basketballs still bounce across the court.
Money is still being raised.
And scholarships are helping keep Janey’s connection with physics alive.
Sometimes a person’s legacy is not measured by how long they lived.
It is measured by how much love remains after they are gone.
For Janey Thompson, that love is clearly still there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Janey Thompson from Charlotte, NC?
Janey Thompson, whose full name was Jane McAdams Thompson, was a Charlotte native and Wake Forest University student. She studied biophysics and was active in basketball and several university organizations.
How old was Janey Thompson when she died?
Janey Thompson was 20 years old when she died on April 9, 2024.
What happened to Janey Thompson?
According to her obituary, Janey died following complications from a blood clot in her leg that traveled to her heart.
Who are Janey Thompson’s parents?
Her parents are Bo Thompson and Scottie Thompson. Bo Thompson is known for his work with WBT Radio in Charlotte.
Did Janey Thompson have siblings?
Yes. Janey had a brother named Hank Thompson, whom her obituary affectionately described as her built-in best friend.
Where did Janey Thompson go to college?
She attended Wake Forest University, where she was a sophomore studying biophysics.
Where did Janey Thompson attend high school?
Janey graduated from Myers Park High School in Charlotte in 2022. She played basketball and softball there.
What is Jam for Janey?
Jam for Janey is a Wake Forest 3-on-3 basketball event created in Janey’s memory. It combines her love of basketball and physics while raising funds for a scholarship associated with her name.
When was Janey Thompson’s memorial service?
Her memorial service was held on April 13, 2024, at Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte.
How is Janey Thompson remembered today?
She is remembered through her family and friends, the Wake Forest community, Jam for Janey, and scholarship efforts that support students interested in physics.
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