ALAN GEORGE THOMPSON

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ALAN GEORGE THOMPSON November 23, 1927 - January 30, 2018 Alan George Thompson was born at home, in the village of Brooklands on the North West corner of Winnipeg, to Henry and Gladys (Holland) Thompson. He was predeceased by Doreen, beloved wife of 63 years (Alzheimer's), and by his sons Randall and Derek both of whom died of Intestinal Cancer. He is survived by his two grandsons, Benjamin and Lucas, his two sisters June (Tom) and Barbara, and by many nieces, nephews and cousins. He cherished the many friends he had: in business, in the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and in the Terminal City Club where he was President in 1973 and was mainly responsible in positioning the club to be redeveloped by it's members into the modern business and social club it is today. His best times were summers at LacLu and Lake of the Woods, Ontario. Doreen was an excellent pianist and dinners were usually followed by an old fashioned sing along and guess who was the lead and loudest singer. During the business week he could often be found, before or after work on Winnipeg's Red River, rowing in the four and eight racing shells, preparing for a regatta somewhere in the mid-west. During the winters in Vancouver, he looked forward to meeting for lunch with the Birthday Group at the T.C.C. On Thursdays, with other ex-Winnipeggers, and on weekends, dinners out with special friends. Spring brought along the guys' annual salmon fishing trip (FISH) on the West Coast, mostly made up of Lake of the Woods cottagers. In summer, a trip back to the Lake of the Woods for pickerel fishing and eating. His early exposure to business was as a teenage newspaper carrier for the Winnipeg Free Press. One day, as he delivered to one of the customer's home, he found two young children in the house surrounded by fire consuming the living room. The children were frightened and helpless. He took the children outside to safety, then rapidly biked to the nearest telephone to report the fire. He was commended and honoured by the City of Winnipeg and by the Winnipeg Free Press for saving two lives. At age 16 he travelled to Victoria, BC and joined the Merchant Marine. He went to sea off the west coast working on the deep sea tug Snohomish and others. The war ended just as Al was old enough to join the Navy. He returned to Winnipeg where he joined the Richardson Securities organization as a Messenger and Quotation Board Marker and progressed from there. Positions he held in Winnipeg were Bond Salesman and Bond Department Manager; in Toronto, Manager of the Retail Branch, and then Manager of Vancouver Branch. He returned to Winnipeg as General Sales Manager, Partner in charge of Sales, and subsequently was appointed to Managing Partner. In 1977 he joined J. Henry Schroder & Company, a subsidiary of a British merchant bank, as President of their Canadian firm, based in Calgary. In 1979 Al moved to Vancouver and purchased a controlling interest in local investment house Brink, Hudson & Lefever Ltd., from which he retired in 1989. He was regularly invited to join the Board of Directors of local and international companies. He joined the Boards of Bethlehem Copper, Crestbrook Forest Industries, Western Star Trucks, Liberian Iron Ore, and many others. He purchased the controlling interest in Liberian Iron Ore and sought new opportunities for the company. The name was changed to Lionore, and largely by the guidance of his associates it became one of the 10 largest producers of nickel in the world. His investment industry service included President and Chairman of Investment Dealers Association of Canada; Chairman, Vancouver Stock Exchange; Chairman of Midwestern District IDA and Chairman of Pacific District IDA. He was a generous supporter of various charities during his life, and before his passing, he established The Alan and Doreen Thompson Charitable Foundation, which will largely be funded from his estate. It will support Medical Research and Development mostly in the areas of medicine that affected his family such as Alzheimer's, Parkinsons and Intestinal Cancer as well as other causes. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alan and Doreen Thompson Charitable Foundation, c/o Scotia Trust Company, 650 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 4N7, to help continue medical research. A memorial wake will be held on Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at the Terminal City Club, 837 West Hasting Street, Vancouver, BC.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 10, 2018