: : : : 12/28/05 Rev. George Nelson Thompson, '35?
Minister, Priest, Author, Scholar
(1917-2001)
GEORGE THOMPSON, 84; PRIEST, SCHOLAR;
Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Oct 4, 2001. pg. 5The Rev. George Nelson Thompson, 84, of Medfield, retired Episcopal priest and Lutheran and Congregational minister, died Sept. 22 in Boston.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Rev. Thompson attended P.S. 37 in Springfield Gardens, N.Y., and graduated from Jamaica High School in Jamaica, N.Y. Following high school, he worked for a year in an insurance company to save money for college expenses. The son of a milkman, he went on to become a scholar, an academic, a clergyman, and a prolific writer and author.
In 1942, he was awarded a bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., where he was president of his class. He entered the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg immediately following graduation, completing his master's of divinity three years later. In 1949, he was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship to study at the University of Oslo in Norway and received the White Foundation Scholarship to study in the University of Scotland four years later. In addition, he received the Lloyd C. Douglas Writing Prize, the Buehler Prize for best contributions to campus life, and numerous other scholastic honors. He continued graduate studies at the University of Southern California, California University at Northridge, and Moorpark College.
He was ordained a Lutheran minister at UCLA in 1944 and was a founding pastor of Altadena Lutheran Church in Altadena, Calif., serving in the church until 1960, when he was ordained an Episcopal priest. He served Episcopal churches until his formal retirement, the last being Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Inglewood, Calif.
Though officially retired, he continued to serve churches as staff minister and as interim pastor, including churches of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. In addition to his service in the parish, he taught university courses as campus chaplain at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Penn., the University of Houston, and Moorpark College, Los Angeles Mission College, and Santa Monica City College, all of California.
While he was a Fulbright Scholar in Oslo, he founded and directed The American School, which is now the educational facility for the children of diplomats in Norway. He also served as Chaplain to the American diplomatic corps during the time he was in Norway.
In addition, he authored more than a dozen books, several film strips, numerous articles, and many poems.
: : : : 12/28/05