A former teacher of Michael Thompson is collecting money to pay for a headstone to mark the diseased Marine’s grave in West Sunbury Cemetery.

Thompson was born April 13, 1958, and died Nov. 28, 1978. He died from injuries suffered in a truck accident while on night maneuvers at Camp Pendleton in California, according to his obituary. His former teacher, Rosemary Simmons, is fundraising to buy a headstone for her former student, because his grave plot currently only has a marker.

Simmons said she and Pat Rumbaugh, an old friend of Thompson’s, may form a committee as well, so the money spent on the project can be properly documented.

Donors can make checks payable to the Mike Thompson fund, and they can be mailed to Rosemary Simmons, 160 Harrisville Road, West Sunbury, PA 16061; or to Patrick Rumbaugh, P.O. Box 323, West Sunbury, PA 16061.