The 90-year-old bishop gained the nickname "Father Bandstand" during his time at Notre Dame High School when, with the help of WAEB-AM, he brought popular musical acts to the Bethlehem Township, Pa., school.
Notre Dame High School's first principal, a man who garnered the nickname "Father Bandstand," died Nov. 24 at the age of 90.
Bishop David Thompson, of Charleston, S.C., was a member of the Diocese of Allentown shortly after its formation in 1961 before he left for the Diocese of Charleston in 1989 to serve as coadjutor bishop. He retried from there in 1999.
A funeral for Thompson is slated for Wednesday in Charleston.
"He was a great churchman and a pioneer in the Diocese of Allentown," Allentown Bishop John Barres said in a news release. "I urge all the people of this Diocese to pray for the repose of the soul of Bishop Thompson who so devotedly served the Church for more than sixty years."
Deacon Anthony Koury, of Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, was a member of the Notre Dame faculty for 43 years, but prior to that he was a young man at the Bethlehem Township, Pa., school. Part of the Class of 1965, Koury said, he can clearly remember Thompson -- a jovial and personable man who commanded both respect and admiration.
"He was an inspiration. He really was, when you come right down to it," Koury said. "He was able to look beyond people's personalities and beyond their shortcomings to the point that he was able to transform them."
Perhaps no one knows that better than Will Lonardo, from the Class of 1961. The Lower Saucon Township resident has taken on a writing career and said he owes a great deal of his success in life to Thompson -- who managed to reach out and help a troubled teen with a temper."He was like an adopted father to me," Lonardo said. "He was the greatest man I ever knew in my life."
For many, Thompson's four-year tenure at Notre Dame starting in July 1957 will be remembered for his bringing immensely popular acts to the brand-new high school with the help of area disc jockey Gene Kaye.
The star-studded performances, including Paul Anka, Chubby Checker, Connie Francis, Frankie Avalon and The Four Aces, among many others, earned Thompson the endearing nickname "Father Bandstand."
Thompson went on to become one of the founding members for the Diocese of Allentown, serving as the first chancellor in 1961 and later the pastor of the cathedral parish and then the vicar general for 22 years.
The Philadelphia native is survived by his twin brother, Monsignor. Edward J. Thompson, of Alamonte, Fla.; sister Betty Hutton, of Vermillion, S.D.; three nieces, Betty Jane and her husband, Bill Turner, of Durham, Conn.; Cathy and her husband, Bill Hawes, of Media, Pa.; and Mary Christie Hutton Green of Vermillion, S.D.; a nephew, John and Joan Hutton of Newtown, Pa.; and numerous great-nephews and -nieces.