Venan Edward Thompson, Jr., a.k.a. “Captain Van,” sailed peacefully into the sunset on January 11, 2019. He lived life to the fullest for 84 years. Van was born in Hamtramck, Michigan, on December 13, 1934. Educated in Canada and Michigan, Van received his Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology from Ohio State University in 1964. During the early years of his career, Van supervised the neurosurgical laboratory of Northwestern University Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. His career horizons broadened to include biomedical/computer science/robotics research. He retired to Naples, Florida, to escape Chicago winters in 1999.
During his retirement, Van was an active member of the Naples Sailing Club and an avid racer. In 2009, Van fulfilled his dream of sailing “The Great Loop” solo. He departed from Naples, sailed up the Eastern Seaboard, through the St. Lawrence Seaway, across the Great Lakes, and spent the Summer moored in Lake Michigan, close to Chicago. As Fall approached, Van left Chicago by sailing down the Mississippi River and returned to Naples via the Gulf of Mexico. With his love of sailing undiminished, Van considered his six-month adventure as one of the proudest achievements of his life.
Van is survived by his wife of forty years, Rosemary Simota Thompson, Esq. He is also survived by children from his first marriage -- his two daughters, Donna Margo Howe of Austin, Texas, and Ellen Whitney Ingram of Glenview, Illinois, as well as his son, Thad Allen Thompson of Deerfield, Illinois. His oldest son, Noren Bradford Thompson, predeceased his father. Survivors also include Van’s beloved grandchildren, a great-grandchild, nieces, nephews, and in-laws.
Services will be held in St. Ann’s Chapel, 475 9th Avenue South, Naples, Florida, 34102, at ten in the morning on Saturday, February 23, 2019. In lieu of flowers, donations in Van’s memory may be made to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, Florida 34105.
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