Edward & Donna Thomson

Peacefully at Evergreen Woods Health Center, North Branford, CT, on April 11, 2016, Edward Campbell Thomson, the second of three sons of the late William Davison Thomson and Helen Margarita Johnston of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, his studies were interrupted because of World War II, and he joined the Canadian navy, serving as an electrician in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Coming back from the war, he graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1950 as a civil engineer.

He married Donna B. Grant in 1952 in Vancouver, and they had two sons, William Davidson Thomson, and James McTavish Grant Thomson.

He worked as an engineering consultant for the steel, aluminum, and pulp and paper industries for more than 25 years, and was involved in the design and construction of mills in Canada and the United States. Locations included Kitimat, BC; Red Rock, Ontario; Vancouver, BC; Thurso, Quebec; St Simons Island, Georgia; Beaumont, Texas; Farmington, Maine; Paducah, Kentucky; Kamloops, BC; and Montreal, Quebec. In later years of his professional life he was involved in the construction and renovation of airports in Lesotho, Africa; and Antigua and a number of other islands throughout the Caribbean. He retired in 1989, and after several years in Mexico, the Caribbean, and North Carolina, he settled with Donna in Higganum, Connecticut. They moved to Evergreen Woods, North Branford, CT in 2014.

His interests included skiing, sailing, and music. An accomplished violinist, clarinetist, and double bass player, he played for the University of Manitoba Symphony. He sang the baritone solos in Handel’s Messiah, and gave many recitals as a solo baritone singing English folk songs such as “The Road to Mandalay” and “We’ll All Come up From Somerset”. His true musical passion was as a choir director, and he produced major works including the Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, and Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde.

Predeceased by his son Davidson, his brothers Kenneth and Stewart, and his sister Helen, he is survived by his wife Donna, his son Grant and his wife Liane Philpotts, his daughter-in-law Anna Levine, and his grandchildren William, Hugo, Paisley, Cameron, and Bryce.

OBITUARY FOR:

DONNA BELLE (GRANT) THOMSON

June 28, 1927, d. July 21, 2019

Peacefully at Evergreen Woods Health Center, North Branford, CT, on July 21, 2019, Donna Belle Thomson (born Grant), the youngest child of the late James McTavish Grant and Hazel Viola Reid of Minnedosa, Manitoba.

Born and raised in Minnedosa, she moved to Winnipeg after completion of her schooling.

She married Edward C. Thomson in 1952 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and they had two sons, William Davidson Thomson, and James McTavish Grant Thomson.

She traveled extensively as Edward’s engineering work took them to Kitimat, BC; Red Rock, Ontario; Vancouver, BC; Thurso, Quebec; St Simons Island, Georgia; Beaumont, Texas; Farmington, Maine; Paducah, Kentucky; Kamloops, BC; and Montreal, Quebec. In later years she lived in Lesotho, Africa; and Antigua and a number of other islands throughout the Caribbean; as well as Mexico and North Carolina. She settled with Edward in Higganum, Connecticut in 1995. They moved to Evergreen Woods, North Branford, CT in 2014.

Her interests included paper doll and antique porcelain doll collecting, skiing, reading (non-fiction), vintage movies, and puzzle-solving. She was an avid and fierce Bridge player, and could beat anybody into her late 80’s. She taught her sons to play Bridge, and that tradition continues in the Thomson/Philpotts family. She loved tag sales and antique shops, purchasing almost anything for a good price. She encouraged Grant, as a young boy, to collect antique toy trains, purchasing boxes of engines, cars, and track at countless “junk” stores in Kentucky.

Predeceased by her son Davidson, her brother Angus and her sister Edna, she is survived by her sister Audrah, her son Grant and his wife Liane Philpotts, her daughter-in-law Anna Levine, and her grandchildren William, Hugo, Paisley, Cameron, and Bryce.