William Julius Thompson ’42

Bill Thompson died Sept. 21, 2007, in Greenville, S.C., of a ruptured appendix.

He was born in Springfield, Mass., and prepared at the Loomis School. At Princeton he roomed with David Robinson, joined Court Club, and majored in electrical engineering. As an undergraduate, he already was engaged to Jacquelyn Elton of Princeton, with whom he shared a 61-year marriage.

For 31 years Bill was an electrical engineer for Delco Products, a division of General Motors. In 1976 impaired hearing prompted him to retire to Hilton Head, S.C., where he was able to indulge his passions for golf and reading. He was particularly attracted by novels of adventure and the military, such as those written by Tom Clancy and W.E.B. Griffin.

Bill devoted his later years to the around-the-clock care of his wife, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. In 2005 he moved to a retirement community in Greenville, where he was living at the time of his death.

To his daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Kevin Duffy, and his grandson, Kyle Duffy, the class sends its condolences.