In 1918, superintendent Franklin B. Dyer retired and the school committee deadlocked on the choice of his successor, with three of the assistant superintendents - Thompson, Jeremiah E. Burke, and Augustine L. Rafter, receiving votes from the committee members. The stalemate lasted two months and was broken when one of Rafter's supporters agreed to break the deadlock by voting for Thompson. On October 23, 1921, Thompson died suddenly at his home in Brighton. His death was attributed to peritonitis brought on by ptomaine poisoning from spoiled venison. He was survived by his wife and three daughters. The Frank V. Thompson Junior High School in Dorchester was named after him.
