John More Thompson died on March 30 in Scarborough, Maine, surrounded by members of his family after a long illness. Born in Leicester, England in 1938 but moving six weeks later to Trinidad where his father headed the Imperial Censorship Office, John was to spend his first five years outside the UK. Returning to London in 1943 in the middle of the Blitz, John and other boys his age took great pride in their shrapnel collections; John having the biggest because he had first dibs on the shards he found after the Germans destroyed his home in 1945.

Escaping the grim post-War years in Britain, John moved to Washington D.C. with his family in 1950, where, at age 11, he attended his first co-ed school, which he remembers as "overwhelming." This lasted about 18 months until he was sent back to England when he declared diplomatic immunity after shooting his pellet gun at the Taiwanese Consulate, thinking it was the Chinese Embassy, after they invaded Korea. At Epsom College, John largely distinguished himself by earning his colors in rugby and cricket, graduating in 1957. He was accepted to Clare College, Cambridge University, his admission largely attributed to him winning a position on the First 15 in Rugby for English Schools. Before Cambridge and after graduating top of his class from the Officer Cadet Program, John fulfilled his National Service by serving in the British Army for two years in Malaya. Returning to Cambridge with a scholarship from Shell Corporation, John studied Chemistry "rather badly," finishing in 1961 with a "rather dismal degree" and joined Shell. Eighteen months later in 1963, John found himself on the ship Queen Elizabeth, newly married to Carol and heading to America to work for Celanese Corporation, arriving in New York with – as family legend tells it - $600 in his pocket.

The next decade was marked by the arrival of Rupert, Juliet and Jessica, moves from Connecticut to Kentucky to New Jersey to Massachusetts and job changes from Celanese to Interactive Data Corporation to Index Systems, where John found that his charisma, resourcefulness and British accent enabled him to sell this new thing called computer technology to "enormous clients." John settled his nomadic family into High Fen in Medfield, Massachusetts where they enjoyed twenty years of corn fests, barnyard animals, a backyard sledding run and involvement in Charles River School, where he served as President of the Board and much-heralded auctioneer of the annual auction.

In 1988, Index sold to Computer Science Corporation. His then nearly-adult children can remember him looking up from his well-worn accounting ledger and exhaling "whoa, I think I'm going to be ok." John ran CSC's European operation out of London for five years then leveraged his leadership of the trendy re-engineering wave by taking to the international speaker circuit, creating travel opportunities for him and his family all over the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile he and Carol were building their dream house – Jabul'Amanzi – on the shores of Squam Lake in New Hampshire, where he would spend the next three decades committed to community building and conservation.

Between 1993 and 2020, John served on and ultimately chaired the boards of the Squam Lakes Association, the Chocorua Chapel Association and the New Hampshire Music Festival. He also served on the board of the Squam Lakes Conservation Society. During this time, John and Carol spent the winter months outside Cape Town, South Africa, where they started a nonprofit organization in 1999 called MasiCorp, which serves the 60,000 residents of the black township Masiphumelele with skills development and educational opportunities including library programs, early childcare,in-school programming and grants for tertiary education. They also gathered friends from across the time zones for at least a dozen safaris to several African countries to observe that continent's wildlife in their native habitats; the last of these was the Last Great Thompson Family Adventure to Tanzania in 2013 with the 13 members of his immediate family.

In 2024, John was recognized in the King's New Year's Day honors as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "service to a community in the Commonwealth with long term impact," an award of which he was enormously and justifiably proud.

John always talked about reaching critical mass, a term learned during his days at Cambridge studying chemistry but parlayed into creating, recognizing and appreciating those life moments where the world is with you. John felt so fortunate that in his long and remarkable life, he could point to and relish so many moments of reaching critical mass...most of which were marked by time spent with family.

John will be remembered as funny, courageous, risk-taking, generous, charismatic, pot- stirring, inventive, resourceful and fun. As the teller of dirty jokes, builder of treehouses,runner of marathons, master of dinner ceremonies, hanger of rope swings, hiker of 4,000-footers, creator of scavenger hunts, quoter of Churchill and Shakespeare, and believer in his and his family's biggest dreams. His kids can all remember multiple times in their lives when their Dad advised them to take the road less traveled and follow their heart, not what convention dictated. He challenged them to chase big goals and ride the wave all the way into the shore, avoiding and resisting anyone who dared challenge or doubt.

Within ten months of meeting in November 1962, John and Carol married and sailed across the Atlantic, kicking off 63 years of adventurous partnership wherein their combined passion, commitment and work ethic would build community gardens, conserve watersheds and mountainsides, foster strong nonprofits on three continents, and support the marginalized in South Africa. Just as Carol was the backbone behind John's successful business career, he supported her in earning her real estate license by studying for the exam alongside her and unfailingly reminding the world that she was the true COO of Thompson Inc. Their marriage is an inspiration to us all.

John - or Gramps - is survived by his wife Carol; his three children Rupert (Laura), Juliet (Steve) and Jessica (Mark); and grandchildren Nate, Thomas, Charlotte, Cassiel and Emma, all of whom he was immensely proud. He is also leaves behind his brother Robin (Angela) and his family of three children and six grandchildren. There were many others without direct relation to John who were deeply impacted by his mentorship and friendship and are proudly considered to be his extended family.

John spent the last decade of his life at Piper Shores in Scarborough Maine, where he received world class care through his many health challenges. His family would like to thank Piper Shores - and Compassus, which provided hospice care - for their thoughtful, loving support of John during his final chapter.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 13 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, 885 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth, Maine with a reception to follow. All are welcome.

In remembrance of John and in lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to MasiCorp.org .

Masiphumelele Corporation (US)

PO Box 290477, Charlestown, MA 02129