William Henry Thompson

William (Bill) Henry Thompson passed away peacefully, in the company of loving ones on June 6, 2012, having lost his valiant battle with prostate cancer. He was born June 24, 1934 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada to Reg and Irene Thompson the youngest of three. When he was a teenager, the family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia leading him to attend the University of British Columbia following high school graduation. He moved to the Bay Area of California after he earned his Bachelors degree and a teaching credential and then to Southern California, securing a job at Temple City High School. He earned a Master Degree at USC, which added to his skills as a leader and educator. After a successful career in education both as a teacher and a leader, he left education to pursue other interests and opportunities, which included managing Bruno’s in Monrovia, directing several Schick Stop Smoking Clinics, and founding Pasadena Motor Works with a friend before finding a calling in real estate. He served the area as an agent and assistant manager at Coldwell-Banker in Arcadia. Bill was known by all as a true human who cared deeply for friends, family, animals particularly the family cats Spunky and Rosie, theatre of all kinds, space, the environment, Clampouts, the home he shared with his wife Anita and the garden of flowers, trees and vegetables. Being athletic, he was an accomplished skier, enjoying many trips to Mammoth. He also loved sailing to the Channel Islands, the Coronados and of course, Catalina that became a favorite spot. Among his accomplishment was earning a pilot’s license, enabling he and Anita to enjoy many adventures in a Cessna, including flying over Mt. St. Helen’s and the Grand Canyon, along the Oregon Coast as well as meeting the challenge of landing on Catalina. Another passion and talent was sharing his cooking and grilling with friends as well as exploring small wineries in the Central Coast for excellent pairings. Traveling was also high on his joys as evidenced by trips to Southeast Asia and China, a month in Africa, cruises to Antarctica, the Baltic, British Isles, as well as a month in France, cruising from Paris to the coasts of Normandy and then to the French Rivera. He is survived by his wife Anita; his stepdaughter, Kevil Drew; grandson Sean Drew; sister Joyce and her husband Alan Anderson; sister Joan and her husband Norman Gish plus nieces and nephews and grand nieces and grand nephews; and countless loving friends, A celebration of his very full life will be held at a later date.