John E. Thompson ’56

On July 20, 2004, John died peacefully at home in Lafayette, Calif., surrounded by his family.

At Princeton, he participated in various service organizations and intramural sports, representing Tower Club. Studying economics, he wrote his thesis on "Federal Aid to Education."

Following Princeton, John turned toward banking and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Finance. At the Bank of the Commonwealth in Detroit, he was elected president and CEO in 1970. Later, in California, he served as chairman and CEO of Security National Bank in Walnut Creek from 1974-80.

In 1980, he began teaching at Saint Mary's College of California, where he was full-time professor and Transamerica Chair of Financial Services. There he created the Honors Concentration in Financial Services Program.

John was a founding director of the Regional Center for the Arts, a member of the San Francisco Symphony Foundation, and most recently, treasurer of the Lafayette United Methodist Church.

The class extends deep sympathy to his wife of 48 years, Virginia Ann Wead Thompson; children Janet Lynn, John Eric, Charles Wead, and Stephen Ross; and his grandchildren, Katy, Claire, and Eric.

The Class of 1956