Former North America Representative on Society Archive
Committee
Dr Robert Thomson
at the 2014 Clan Gathering
Robert Thomson enlisted at the age of 17 in the United States
Army Air Corps in July 1943, and served in Italy and Germany
with the 15th Air Force. Upon his return to the States,
he attended Pennsylvania State University and graduated with
honours in 1951 and 1952 with BS and MS degrees from the
Department of Earth & Mineral Energy. In 1980
he was awarded a Ph.D from the Mining Department of
the University of Pittsburgh.
***** Robert's first employment
was with the US Bureau of Mines in Washington DC. Later
he was stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then Knoxville,
Tennessee, finally back to Pittsburgh as Regional Director for
Bureau Mines mining and mine reclamation activities in the
Eastern 27 States with personnel at 5 Regional Research
Centres.
***** Robert retired from the
US Bureau of Mines 1982 and accepted an Associate
Professorship at Frostburg State College, MD to establish a
curriculum in Mine Reclamation. He finally retired
in June 1987 to move to Florida.
***** Robert became a resident
of Zellwood Station in Florida, a retirement community, and
was soon involved in community activities, as Director in the
Zellwood Station Lessees Association and then the Zellwood
Station Co-op when it was formed with 1,134 homes and an
operating budget of more $1.6 million. He served for 22
years as a Director of the 55 plus years of age
retirement community, President three times, Vice-President
several times and as a member of a number of
Committees including Finance, Strategic Planning, Golf,
Revising Governing Documents. Robert was honoured by the Co-op
in 2015, receiving the title Director Emeritus, and in the
same year received the Brennanman Award for Outstanding
Resident.
***** Robert first became
interested in genealogy in 1992 and became a member
of the Clan MacThomas Society in 1995. He also joined
MacThomas North America as a Charter Member in 2001 and served
as Vice President until the organisation was disbanded in
2012. He attended the 2014 Clan Society Diamond Jubilee
Gathering in Pitlochry in Perthshire, Scotland, and in 2016
was appointed to the Clan Archives Committee where he
completed some valuable work.
