'That friendship will last in my heart as long as I'm alive,' says writer Will Lonardo, who adds that Thompson served as a mentor and a dear friend.
Bishop David Thompson, beloved former principal at Notre Dame High School, died Nov. 24 in Charleston, S.C. Will Lonardo knew Bishop David Thompson was special as soon as he met the man — even before he'd earned the memorable moniker of "Father Bandstand."
For Lonardo, Thompson's magic was his uncanny ability to find a lost soul and help it grow.
"This world needs more people like him," said Lonardo, a 1961 graduate of Notre Dame High School.
The retired bishop died Nov. 24 at his home in Charleston, S.C., at the age of 90. Beloved for his kindness and guidance, Thompson had also served for many years at the Diocese of Allentown, including for 22 years as the general vicar. He moved to South Carolina to serve at the Diocese of Charleston in 1989, where he remained until his retirement in 1999.
Lonardo said Thompson touched innumerable lives in his four-year tenure at the Bethlehem Township, Pa., high school — where he served as the very first principal. For the Lower Saucon Township man, Thompson was more than a school administrator.
"He was like an adopted father to me," Lonardo said Tuesday, remembering his longtime friend. "He was the greatest man I knew in my life."
Lonardo had run away from a boys' school in Philadelphia before being moved to Notre Dame High School in 1957. Suffering from alopecia, a disease that causes massive hair loss, Lonardo said, he was used to being teased and bullied and had prepared for a hellish high school experience.
Instead, he said, he was treated to the most amazing years of his life.
"He was always there for me," Lonardo said. "Even when I would often think, why does this man even put up with me? When I was out of line, he did what a father should do."
Lonardo had lost his own father when he
was 3 years old and said his wild temper got him suspended temporarily from the high
school. But through it all, Thompson stuck by him — not ready to give up on the
troubled teen who needed some guidance. Lonardo is now a writer and recently finished a memoir that delves into his relationship with Thompson. He said he cannot imagine having had success in life without such compassionate direction.
"If you get to know one person in you life that's at all like him," Lonardo said, "then you're a very wealthy human being."
Thompson's claim to fame at the high school was a collaborative effort with disc jockey Gene Kaye of WAEB-AM to establish an event similar to "American Bandstand," where teens could have a fun, safe Saturday night. He earned the nickname "Father Bandstand" when, under his watch, such star-studded acts as Paul Anka, Chubby Checker, Connie Francis, Frankie Avalon and The Four Aces — among many others — showed up in Bethlehem Township, Pa., to screaming Lehigh Valley teens.
Deacon Anthony Koury of Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church was a student at the time and said there was no one quite like Thompson.
"I truly believe that God made sure he was the right man at the right place at the right time," Koury said. "I think just getting it off the ground, Notre Dame needed someone like him. He had the right personality. He was able to bring not only the academic part of it but the social aspect. He was a giant in his own way."
Koury, a graduate of the Notre Dame Class of 1965, went on to teach there for 43 years. He said he could never forget Thompson's incredible gift for mentoring people.
"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."
In September, Thompson visited Notre Dame High School as officials worked to set up a writing scholarship in both his and Lonardo's names. Koury said Thompson spoke to the current Notre Dame football players. Even with generations separating them, Koury said, the young men were enthralled by Thompson's speech.
"You could see that look in those young men's eyes, that respect," Koury said. "He was able to do that. The thing about him was he was so humble. He never forgot his roots. He never forgot where he came from. He never lost sight of the fact that this was where he began."
Lonardo said Thompson was slated to speak at the school in May during a visit to raise funds for the scholarship and put on one last Notre Dame Bandstand.
"He wanted the opportunity to talk to the entire student body one more time," Lonardo said. "And he's not going to be able to do it."
But the dance will go on, as will the good memories — all in Thompson's name.
"As far as my youth goes, those were the greatest years of my life — with him," Lonardo said. "That friendship will last in my heart as long as I'm alive."