Abstract
On May 1, 2014, our profession lost one of its last remaining giants. Samuel Wesley (“Sam”) Thompson II was one such man, who not only laid the bedrock for our profession the world over but, for the remainder of his life served as one of its cornerstones. In his first 20 years as a military officer, Sam earned a master’s degree, achieved the rank of colonel, and authored 2 books and 40 journal articles in 2 languages. In a subsequent civilian career, he penned 3 more volumes, including the 1680-page Selected Histochemical and Histopathological Methods and An Atlas of Artifacts Encountered in the Preparation of Microscopic Tissue Sections, both still considered authoritative references. An outstanding career but not, at least on first inspection, one worthy of giant status; it is the extracurricular activities of Dr Thompson that has earned his place in the pantheon of veterinary pathologists.
In 1971, Sam took the first step in reorganizing the field of veterinary pathology when he chartered and incorporated the Society of Pharmacological and Environmental Pathologists (SOPEP); the next year, this group published its first bulletin. Fast forward 6 years: in 1978, the name of the bulletin was officially changed to Toxicologic Pathology, and in 1980, SOPEP became known as the Society of Toxicologic Pathologists (STP). Sam served as its second president and became an honored member in 1982.
In 1973, while still serving as the president of the STP, Sam was approached by family members of Dr. Charlie Davis, a longtime colleague and mentor, about the dearth of training available for young pathologists. They gave Sam a small amount of seed money, from which arose the Charles Louis Davis Foundation for the Advancement of Veterinary Pathology. For 33 years, from his homes in Summit (New Jersey), Sayre (Pennsylvania), and Gurnee (Illinois), Sam recruited volunteers to travel and teach on their own time and, often, dime. Sam WAS the Foundation, handling all of the meeting registrations, soliciting funds from pharmaceutical companies, recruiting for the faculty and board of directors, creating publications, and handling the phones and funds for a nascent organization that has today grown to more than 6000 members in over 40 countries around the world.
Sam was tireless after completing his civilian career, working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week in the foundation office, laboring beneath the radar and always allowing others to enjoy the spotlight. He was generous to a fault, with his time and more—when funding was not available for awards or meetings or meals for students, it was always available at the end—I was later to find out it was often through an anonymous donation by none other than Sam. As one of many who benefited so often from Sam’s efforts and devotion, I can honestly say that he was the most giving and selfless man that I have ever met.
He is survived by his wife, Dr Vladislava Rac of Gurnee, his daughter Maggie Elliott, 4 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren, and ranks of veterinary pathologists who owe a debt we can never repay.