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David Scott Thompson was born on April 10, 1917, in Egypt, his father, Forest, was 35 and his mother, Carrie, was 35. He married Barbara Simond on June 20, 1942, in Escambia, Florida. They had two children during their marriage. He died on October 30, 2007, in Princeton, New Jersey, at the age of 90, and was buried there. In Rye his family lived at Blind Brook Lodge. David served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
 David Scott Thompson
Ensign Thompson was graduated from the Lebanon School, New Lebanon, N. Y. . and from Princeton University, Class of 39. He is a member of Quadrangle Club. Before joining the Naval Air Force, Ensign Thompson was on the faculty of the Darrow School, New Lebanon. He is now an instructor at Pensacola. The wedding will take place in Pensacola on June 20th.
PAGE SIX T H E RYE CHRONICLE Friday, June 5, 1942
David Scott Thompson, 90, a longtime Princeton University administrator, avid barbershop singer, and loving husband, father, and friend, died peacefully at his home in Monroe Village in Monroe Township, N.J. on October 30.
Born in Assiut, Egypt in 1917, he was the younger son of the Reverend and Mrs. F. Scott Thompson, Presbyterian missionaries from Pennsylvania and faculty members at Assiut College. He was educated in Egypt until he was 15 years old, when he came to this country and entered Darrow School in New Lebanon, N.Y.
In 1935, Dave entered Princeton University as a member of the ''Great Class of 1939.'' As an undergraduate, he majored in modern languages and was one of the first five students to initiate the Special Program in the Humanities. He won a letter in soccer, was associated with Theatre Intime, a member of Quadrangle Club, and manager of the Student Tutoring Association. He graduated with honors, winning two prizes for proficiency in French.
After graduation, Dave taught at Darrow School until he joined the air arm of the United States Navy in June 1941. In June 1942, he married Barbara Simond of Rye, N.Y. whom he loved and cherished for 61 years until her death in 2003.
After serving as an instrument flight instructor at Pensacola, Florida, he saw action as a night fighter pilot flying F6F Hellcats attached to Night Fighter Squadron 91 aboard the fast attack carrier USS Bon Homme Richard stationed off Okinawa and Japan during the final months of World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for ''heroism and extraordinary achievement'' for a night mission against enemy positions in severe weather on the night of July 17, 1945, off Honshu Island.
After his release from active service, Dave joined the faculty of the Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, leaving after five years to become personnel manager of Providence-Washington Insurance Company, Providence, Rhode Island. Later he became director of human relations for Dohler-Jarvis in Pottstown, and then worked for Walter Clark Associates.
In 1957, after three years with the Philadelphia advertising firm of Grey and Rogers, Dave was brought back to Princeton to coordinate the University?(TM)s ''$53 Million'' capital gifts campaign, which exceed its goal by $8 million and commenced a 27-year period of dedication to the University. As he put it, ''Which one of us has not dreamed of spending his life in the shadow of Nassau Hall?'' He was named Director of Development in 1961 and six years later was appointed Assistant to President Robert F. Goheen, with whom Dave had played fullback to Goheen?(TM)s forward position on the soccer team during their undergraduate days. In 1972, Dave helped organize and became Executive Secretary of the Council for University Resources, and served nine years as a trustee of the American College Public Relations Association. He was a founding member of the organizing board of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) when that body was created in 1974 through the merger of the ACPRA and the American Alumni Council.
His career at Princeton climaxed in 1980 by his promotion to the position of Recording Secretary of the University. He retired from Princeton in 1984, and continued to serve the University as a member of the Class of 1939 Foundation and the Quadrangle Club. In 1992 he won the Harold H. Helm Award for ''exemplary and sustained performance'' on behalf of annual giving for the Class of 1939.
Dave was prominent in community activities during his 36 years residence in Princeton. He was a member of the Council of Community Services, the Princeton Education Center at Blairstown, the Princeton Prospect Foundation, and the Princeton Historical Society. He was an Elder of the Nassau Presbyterian Church, served on the Princeton Township Committee, was tax collector of Princeton Township, and was on the Darrow School board of directors for many years.
One of Dave?(TM)s great pleasures was barbershop singing. He was a long-standing member of the Princeton Garden Statesmen, where he sang baritone with great gusto and flair. In 1990, Dave and Barbara moved from their home on Rollingmead in Princeton to Monroe Village, where he organized and directed an in-house singing group, delighting fellow residents with regular and, wherever fellow members gathered, impromptu concerts. During his 17 years at Monroe Village, he was also president of the residents?(TM) association and served on the finance, music, and other committees.
Predeceased by his wife Barbara Simond of Rye, New York, he is survived by two sons, David Jr. and Peter, both of Cambridge, Mass.; two grandchildren, Ted and Britta; two sisters-in-law, Evelyn Thompson-aye and Suzanne Holland; and by nieces, nephews and many friends. He was preceded in death by his brother Jack Thompson of Princeton.
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