William T. Thom III ’40

Bill, a lifelong advocate of peace and understanding in the world, was at peace Aug. 24, 2004, at Foxdale Village, State College, Pa.

He prepared at George School, and followed his father, William T. Thom Jr., Blair Professor of Geology, to Princeton. He majored in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and was a member and officer of the Anti-War Society, Whig, Chapel Choir, Westminster Society's Boys Club, and Gateway Club.

Bill returned to George School after graduation, teaching reading and English while serving as assistant dean. He later earned a master's in 1952 and a doctorate in clinical psychology in 1962 from Penn State University. He joined the Children's Service Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in 1956, retiring as staff psychologist 30 years later. Bill belonged to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American and Pennsylvania psychological associations, and the International Reading Association. He held various positions in the Society of Friends, was chairman of the Wyoming Valley Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy, and helped to found the Wyoming Valley Peace Center.

He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Mary Hodgson Albertson; daughters Margaret Thorn and Rachel Thorn Haverkos; and sisters Judith Phelps and Elizabeth Robinson. To them all, his classmates express sincere condolences.

The Class of 1940