"Vic" Joseph Victor Thompson

June 09, 1925 ~ June 22,2016

Vic passed away peacefully with Edith, his wife of 62 years, at his side. Vic was born in St Boniface, Manitoba to Joseph and Annie Thompson, both new immigrants from Northern Ireland. He attended St. Paul’s High School in Winnipeg and, as soon as he was of age, joined the Royal Canadian Navy. During WWII he served in the Atlantic as a wireless telegrapher on several ships including the HMCS Kootenay and the HMCS Outremont. He also volunteered for the War in the Pacific, though thankfully, it ended before he was deployed.

After the war, he attended the University of Manitoba, earning both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Social Work. His first professional job after graduating was with the Children’s Aid Society in Brandon, Manitoba where he met colleague and fellow social worker, Edith Close. Within a year they married and moved to Seattle where Vic worked at the King County Juvenile Court, the Bremerton Child Guidance Center, and later, the University of Washington. He went on to earn a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington and a Doctorate of Social Work from the University of Southern California. In 1969 he became Professor and Director of the Social Work Program at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington and in 1976 he accepted the position of Director of the School of Social Work at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Vic and Edith had three children, Moreen Spracklin (Frank), Susan Riddle (Blaine), and Geoffrey Thompson (Janet). Together, the family enjoyed camping vacations, canoe trips and activities such as hiking, skiing, swimming, and tennis. Vic, ever the innovator, used a sleeping bag cover as an early prototype of the now popular child carrier backpack, to carry his young son up the trail while singing The Happy Wanderer. Vic liked to stay active. In 1990, following his tenure at MUN, he and Edith retired to Kelowna where they delighted in years of family visits, international travel, cruises, ballroom and square dancing and Tai Chi. He was an active member of the Kelowna Cardiac Exercise Society and the Society for Learning in Retirement.

Vic will be missed by his family, including six grandchildren, Emily, Evangeline, Rosemary, Matthew, William, and Laura. The family would like to thank the “Kalamalka” staff at The Village at Mill Creek and Dr. William Mackle for their care during Vic’s final years.

A memorial service will be held Thursday, June 30 at 1:00pm at First Memorial Funeral Services, 1211 Sutherland Ave., Kelowna BC V1Y5Y2.

To share memories, or to leave condolences to the family, please visit: www.firstmemorialfuneralkelowna.com

Arrangements in care of First Memorial Funeral Services, Kelowna, BC. 250-762-2299