Robert George Thompson

Robert G. “Bob” Thompson of San Diego, California, passed away at the age of 80 years on October 28, 2018, at Silverado Escondido Memory Care Community. He was born in Vancouver, Canada, and he spent most of his childhood years in the Bridge River Valley of British Columbia where he was an outstanding student, an avid curler and track star, and a member of the Boy Scouts of Canada. His parents owned a trucking company which hauled freight over the mountainous terrains to the small mining towns of Bralorne and Pioneer, and his father put him to work driving one of his many trucks whenever he was not attending school. Upon graduating in 1961 with a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of British Columbia, he married Betty Stell whom he had met when she attended her twelfth grade at Bralorne High School. Together they moved to Montreal, Canada, where Robert began his engineering career at Canadian Pratt & Whitney; he also continued his studies to earn a Mechanical Engineering Diploma from McGill University. They enjoyed the company of so many fellow engineers from UBC, who also began their careers in Montreal. When an opportunity came to move closer to their parents, who were now the grandparents of his two sons and a daughter, all born in Montreal, he moved his family to Los Angeles, where he worked in Torrance for Garrett Corporation, and in Irvine for Airco Cryogenics, Inc., and then for his own consulting company, all the while being an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization. In 1985, when his children were on their own or away at college, he accepted a challenging position at Hamilton Sundstrand in San Diego. There, he continued his membership in the ASME, becoming a Life Fellow, and volunteered his help in many United Way projects. He retired from that company, now United Technologies, Inc., in 2003, with many great memories of working on so many interesting projects pertaining to small gas turbine engines and making so many wonderful friends there. After retiring he was able to enjoy many trips to keep in touch with his family in Vancouver, to visit his daughter in Kirkland, Washington, and to vacation at his favorite locales in Hawaii. On their 50th wedding anniversary in 2011, he and Betty cruised to Alaska and journeyed to Denali Park and the Yukon Territory of Canada. He also continued to do consulting engineering work from home until 2013. As dementia progressed, he was warmly cared for at home by his wife and son Ron and by Silverado. Predeceased by his father and mother, sister Florence and nephew David, he will be lovingly remembered by his wife Betty, sons Ronald and David, daughter Willow, nephew Christopher (Margaret), grandsons Fraser (Damaris) and Trevor, granddaughter Mackenzie, great granddaughters Kaylee and Kenadie, grandnieces Sophie and Alexa, and many dear relatives he has throughout British Columbia and friends he has made throughout his life. In his honor, a memorial service will be held at El Camino Memorial – Sorrento Valley, 5600 Carroll Canyon Rd., San Diego, California 92121. His ashes will be taken to The Burnaby Heritage Cemetery, Burnaby, BC, Canada, where his parents’ and his sister’s ashes are located. Special thanks go to the wonderful people at Alzheimer’s San Diego, Silverado Hospice, Silverado At Home, and Silverado Escondido for their constant care and support. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Alzheimer’s San Diego, 6632 Convoy Court, San Diego, CA 92111 or a charity of your choice.