William Magill Thompson, of Sheepscot, died peacefully on April 24. Bill will be remembered for his intellectual curiosity, imagination, humanistic approach to life, and love of music and literature (as demonstrated by his extensive library containing over 4000 volumes).
Bill was born on Nov. 28, 1926 in Milwaukee, Wis. to William Magill and Ella Struck Thompson. He attended Yale for a semester before entering the Navy in 1944. Trained as a radio technician, he was stationed on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay. Bill returned to Yale in 1946 and graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. After working as an apprentice architect in Racine, Wis., he spent five years in Sarasota, Fla. designing houses. In 1959 he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Architecture from Princeton, after which he opened his own architectural practice in Princeton, N.J. in 1963. In 1969 he spent a year in Williamsburg, Va., where he worked as the Resident Architect at Colonial Williamsburg. Along with his growing architectural practice, he was also a Visiting Fellow for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation from 1972 – 1975.
After a marriage to Joan Simmonds that ended in divorce, Bill was introduced to Katharine (Katie) Vansant of Wiscasset, and they married in 1975. In 1981 he and Katie, along with their two young children and Katie’s two children from a previous marriage, traveled to Scotland where Bill spent a year in an independent study program at the University of St. Andrews. A natural mentor and gifted educator, he later encouraged and recruited over one thousand Americans to study abroad at the University.
In 1983, having returned home to Wiscasset, Bill and Katie founded the Sheepscot Valley Children’s House. Bill designed the building for the pre-school, which continues to operate today and has, over its nearly 35-year existence, provided an environment where children feel comfortable, happy, and “at home” to learn and grow. This deep understanding for the harmonious interaction between one’s self and the environment was critical to Bill’s success as an architect over his 70-year career. He has designed houses all over the United States and likes to compare the practice of architecture to composing frozen music.
Katie passed away in 2005, and Bill married Joan Donahue in 2007. Together they conceptualized and founded Wabi Sabi Cottage, a B&B teahouse in Alna. In 2014 they agreed to an amicable divorce.
Bill is survived by his daughters, Katharine Thompson and Cammie Thompson, both of Boston, Mass.; as well as stepdaughters, Susan Thompson and Karen Paul; and stepson, Christopher Hobbs. He also leaves behind many additional loved ones, including Lea Moonsong, Rick Koehler, Tom and Andy Sylke and Kim Canavan.
Please visit Bill’s memorial page at www.StrongHancock.com.
A memorial service for Bill will be held at 2 p.m., Sat., May 6 at Clark’s Cove Farm, 107 Ridge Rd., Walpole.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the Sheepscot Valley Children’s House, PO Box 449, Wiscasset, ME 04578.
Condolences, and messages for the family, may be expressed by visiting: www.StrongHancock.com.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta.
