| Granddaughter Lynn's memories and
information Life with Barkley Thompson
Barkley Thompson had been part of the American
forces in the Philippines in the Spanish-American war. The story I heard was
that Gen. McArthur thought well of him and that Barkley was made
Superintendent of Schools in Manila. He came back to marry Neddy, and they
set sail for the Philippines the day they were married. I understood from
my mother that Barkley’s family pressured him to come back to the U.S., and
I got the impression that life didn’t go as well for him here. At any rate,
Barkley abandoned the family about the time his son was starting school.
Neddy as a teacher
Neddy had been trained as a teacher at
Bridgewater Normal School in Massachusetts, and she taught elementary school
for thirty years. I’m not sure if she started teaching before she was
married or not. I remember hearing that she had an early job teaching in a
one room school in a remote part of New Jersey, and that she was janitor as
well as teacher there. I know that she eventually settled in to teaching
first grade, and that she developed her own approach for teaching reading.
She wrote a textbook -- a looseleaf that used oak tag that could be cut up
for flash cards -- and had it copyrighted. She was disappointed that she
wasn’t able to sell it because it wasn’t the way schools were approaching
reading instruction in the fifties. When I was in first grade, my mother
drove me down to East Orange once a week for a phonics lesson with Neddy. I
credit these lessons with putting me on a very solid footing in reading when
I was young.
Life after retirement
Neddy lived in a residential hotel in East Orange
called the Edgemere. She was a sociable person, and she developed a
friendship with a Dutch family that was staying there for a while. Neddy was
at retirement age (she was about 75 then); she had been doing substitute
teaching, but I think there were rules that limited how much she could
teach. At any rate, she wasn’t one to sit around, and the Dutch family
invited her to visit them in Holland. So off she went, and began traveling
around Europe. She would send “round robin” letters back telling of her
experiences: they would go alternately to each of her three children, who
would then pass them on to the others. I used to look forward to reading
these and collecting the foreign stamps on them. Sadly, I don’t think anyone
saved the letters. I still do have a collection of foreign dolls that Neddy
sent me for Christmas and birthday gifts.
Neddy liked Latin countries and warm weather, perhaps
from her early experiences in the Philippines. She settled in Majorca for a
while, then went to Mexico for a time. There she lived in a small pension
and would take over for the owner when he went away for short periods.
After a time, the owner married, and I understood that Neddy decided to
leave because she didn’t want to be like a mother-in-law. She went back to
Majorca and stayed there the rest of her life.
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Children of Edna
Aileen Laing
b. In the Philippines
m. Charles, who died Nov. 29,1989
Lived in Bernardsville, NJ
d. July 20, 1993
Jean McWhood
Secretary, calligraphy, volunteer
b. March 8, 1913 in Glen Ridge, NJ
m. Thorne, a mechanical engineer
d. Sept. 25, 1985
Ross W (Tommy) Thompson
Entrepreneur
b. Aug 11, 1914 in Glen Ridge, NJ
m. Isabel (Sunny) Thomas
d. Aug. 15, 1984
Note: There were two children born
in the Philippines before Aileen.
Death of Edna Thompson
EDNA THOMPSON, American resident of Majorca for the
last 18 years, and a founding member of the First Church of Christ,
Scientist, in Palma, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday night.
She was 98. He son and daughter-in-law were with her.
Edna always felt that she would live to reach the age
of 100. Every year, the Hotel Zaida, where she resided, would offer her a
special party and celebration on her birthday, February 4, to which a few
intimate friends and members of the Church were invited. This fiesta was
traditional every year since she arrived at the hotel.
Edna has been around the world many times and saw many places. But the
first time she came to Majorca, she chose it as her home after so much
wandering. And it was the first home she had for many years
And although she traveled a great deal, her mind and heart were always
fixed on God. She was a noble example for everyone who knew her, and the
living example of earthly love transcended by the divine. She brought an
element of divine love to the human, and at the same time lifted human love
to a higher plane.
There will be a reading in fond remembrance of her at Calle Monsenor
Palmer, 3, on Sunday, May 20, at 12 noon. All are welcome.
1979
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Majorca Newspaper: Talk of the Town
EDNA THOMPSON'S 95th BIRTHDAY
by Harold J. Greenberg
MRS. EDNA THOMPSON, an American who is a
resident of the Hotel Zaida on the Paseo Maritimo, was as delighted as a
schoolgirl when the staff of the hotel invited her to a magnificent birthday
party on the occasion of her 95th birthday.
At 95, Edna is hale, hearty, enthusiastic, dynamic, in
excellent health, and in possession of all her faculties. She is one
of the most friendly people imaginable, and her jole-de-vivre is
extraordinary. For her, happiness is a natural state of being.
More than 14 years ago, Edna came to Majorca for the
first time and was so enchanted with the island that she decided to live
here permanently. She had been living in Vienna.
Before that she had been .....daughter and son-in-law
suggested that she come here, and now she would not dream of living anywhere
else.
For 13 years, she resided at the Hotel Kursaal until it
was closed, and then moved to the Hotel Zaida which has become her home in
every sense of the word.
Her very spacious and comfortable room, which overlooks
the Mediterranean is decorated according to her own tastes. It is in
Castilian style, and with many paintings, books, flowers and decorations.
She loves good music and never tires of listening to the great classics.
In Palma, she is very well known and loved by everyone.
She has a kind of radiance which reflects the true life of the spirit.
She is a member of the Christian Science Church, and leads a very full and
active life. At the same time, her basic philosophy of attunement and
harmony with the infinite is an expression of her oneness with God.
Where were you from originally, Edna? I asked.
New Jersey. I always loved to travel and discover new places.
Where was your first real travel?
I went to the Philippine Islands when I was just married.
We crossed the continent by train, and then crossed the Pacific. My
husband was chief clerk of the Manila city schools and superintendent of the
night schools for three years.
Then we continued to ravel round the world, stopping in
Japan, China, Ceylon, Europe, the Mediterranean, crossing the Atlantic, and
returning home for a while.
When my husband passed on, I became a teacher, and then
my children all grew up and got married. After that, I couldn't stand
living alone, so I went to live in a small hotel. I knew right away
that I'd love hotel life, and I have been very happy in hotels.
After I retired from teaching, I didn't quite know what
I'd do, and my daughter suggested that I take a cruise. But it was far
too costly, and I settled for a trip to England.
I'll never forget my first day in London! And it
was the beginning of a life of travel which went on for many years.
And now Majorca is home?
I would rather live here than any other place!
And I've seen very many places!
I've always wondered, Edna, about your basic philosophy.
It is very simple, my friend. First of
all, I think I was born naturally happy and always cheerful. The world
was always very bright to me. Religion has always meant a great deal
to me. I trust God absolutely, and I don't take a step without his
guidance. If we turn to God and His guidance, he is glad to help i
everything.
We all have our ups and downs in life, but if we can
rise above them, the strengthens us. A very easy life wouldn't make a
person as strong as one who has tried and risen above things.
She looked round at all her friends and the
fabulous birthday cake before her.
"Do you know," she reflected, "in five years, I will be 100, and
that will really be he day! In fact, I'll be considerably younger than
I am now! Age is not a matter of years. It is a question of
spirit, of feeling. This is one of the most fascinating things in the
world!
"I remember, long ago, when I was very young, reading
the Bible, that a person could be in a terrible state, but that he could
become fresh as a child and return to the days of his youth. Mrs. Eddy
tells us about cases like this in Science and Health.
"It's all in the Bible, I believe it, and Christian
Science can explain it."
How does life look to you from this vantage point, Edna?
Looking back, I had my difficulties, of course, but
they never took away my joy of life. There were temporary things which
I had to struggle and get over with.
But I always have faith and I believe. And always
I have the realization that Adam's dream is unreal. God made all, and
all is perfect. If we stick to these truths, and know them, as the
Bible tells us, then the truth shall make us free.
And this truth is reflected everywhere. Ever
since I first fame her, and say the almond blossoms in bloom, and all the
other wonderful things about Majorca, I knew that this was the place for me.
The people are so wonderful and kind, and it is shown in everything they do,
from their handicrafts to the beautiful Majorcan pearls which symbolize the
creative nature of the people.
And many more happy birthdays, Edna! For all of us, you are a
living example of a really happy life. |
