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BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
TENAFLY, N.J.—Ordinarily, people in roof construction do not have a “who’s who” roster of customers, but Bobby Thompson is anything but ordinary. Joey Bishop, Kitty Kallen, Polly Bergen, Richard Nixon, Eddie Murphy, Tracy Morgan and Chris Rock are just a few of the people on whose homes Thompson has worked.
Thompson grew up in Tenafly and attended school there. After graduating in 1956, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Campbell, in Kentucky.
He excelled at parachuting, making 29 parachute jumps in the military (after retiring from the service, he made another 169 recreational free fall jumps in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania). Thompson later became licensed to fly Cessna planes and helicopters.
While stationed at Fort Campbell, Thompson was chosen as one of 36 enlisted men from a pool of 15,000 to report to the 101st Airborne Division Honor Guard. There, he drilled for two months, eight hours a day, to prepare for special assignments. This included escorting Hollywood celebrities and high ranking officers (like Gen. William Westmoreland, who commanded U.S. forces during the Vietnam War and was chief of staff of the U.S. Army from 1968 until 1972) to public events.
One of Thompson’s honor guard assignments was serving as a bodyguard for actor Gregory Peck, whom he accompanied on his tour to theaters showing the Korean War movie “Pork Chop Hill” to the troops. He also escorted him at celebratory dinners.
“Peck was very shy and down to earth, and he and his wife were the nicest people. Getting to stand next to Gregory Peck was a thrill,” Thompson recalls.
Thompson also worked at a rodeo with James Arness, the star of the popular TV show “Gunsmoke,” whom he describes as the biggest man that he had ever seen in his life. “Everyone in our group was required to be 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. Well, Arness was 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds, so standing next to him and guarding him, I felt somewhat embarrassed! But he was very, very nice.”
Clayton Moore, star of “The Lone Ranger,” was another of Thompson’s charges, at a convention for the 101st Airborne Division.
“We were even supposed to train to be on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but every time we were scheduled to go on, a military commitment came up, such as a funeral.”
After finishing his military service, Thompson returned to Tenafly, where he served as councilman and a member of the Board of Adjustment.
Thompson was also a member of the Tenafly Rotary Club for 30 years, and chairman of Rotary’s Gift of Life in the early 1990s. In conjunction with this program, Thompson and his wife, Courtney, brought in some 63 families from around the world who were hosted by local families to enable their children to receive lifesaving cardiac surgery.
The Thompsons themselves hosted five of these families, and Bobby Thompson recalls what a wonderful experience it was.
“One year, around 1990, we had a 13-year-old boy from the Ukraine who was born with a hole in his heart. His family was making only $10 a month to run a state-owned farm. His mother had to sell a pig and a calf to raise money to get to the airport. When they came to our house, they didn’t know how to work the bathtub or the toilet. When Courtney took them out and bought them basic clothing such as jeans and sneakers, and they were astonished at such luxuries.
“My youngest daughter at the time was the same age as our Ukrainian guest, and she was taking classes in Russian, so they were thrilled to be able to speak to each other in Russian,” he recalled.
“I remember a particularly touching incident. The youngster had dreamed his whole life about playing soccer, so I brought him to a Christmas party at the Tenafly Elks club where he was given a soccer ball that we had bought him. There were tears of joy in his eyes. The Tenafly Elks and the Rotary and my family got so involved with this boy, that we sent him and his mother home with almost $5,000 in cash.”
For their outstanding efforts, the Thompsons received the Rotary Club’s Gift of Life Humanitarian Award, a beautiful engraved wood plaque with brass carving. The Rotary award is one of many that Thompson has received.
Thompson was also a member of the Tenafly Elks for 51 years, and he is currently chaplain for the Tenafly Lodge and an usher at Mt. Carmel Church in Tenafly.
The focal point of Thompson’s professional life has been roofing. At the age of 12, he began helping his father, and eventually took over the Highwood Construction Co. that he still owns and operates. After 68 years in the business, he is still in fine form and still roofing.
Thompson has worked on several historic churches as well as residential homes, expansive mansions and commercial buildings. Former United States Congressman and Englewood Mayor Steve Rothman is a longtime customer and friend who speaks highly of Thompson, who returns the compliment.
“He is such a gentleman, a brilliant man and a pleasure to work with,” Thompson says.
“I also loved working with President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat,” Thompson adds. “He showed me around every room in their Saddle River home. Nixon could not have been more gracious to me and my family. What a down-to-earth, fabulous man! When he heard that my daughter was researching U.S. presidents, he sent her a letter thanking her.”
After almost seven decades of work and adventures, Thompson remains a ball of energy with a huge smile and an exuberant laugh. When he’s not roofing, he enjoys photography, golf and collecting baseball memorabilia. (He was close friends with numerous Yankees, including Thurman Munson, Catfish Hunter, and Ron Guidry.)
Despite his many milestones in the military, the construction business and public service, the thing that Thompson is most proud of is his family.
“I met Courtney in a restaurant where I was working. I took one look at her, and I was thunderstruck! She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and she still is,” he said. “We have been married 40 years, and have four beautiful daughters and 10 incredible grandchildren.”
Walls of family photos are lovingly displayed in Thompson’s den along with his most precious memorabilia.
Thompson has always been deeply religious.
“I never miss 8 a.m. mass on Sunday, and I thank God every single day for the many blessings that I have been given.”