It’s not every day you meet someone who competed against tennis ace Arthur Ashe, owned a corporate monopoly and custom-ordered a painting from Salvador Dali.
Today is the day.
Meet 77-year-old Don Thompson — athlete, entrepreneur, musician — whose success in business has enabled him to share his love for the arts. Thompson, of coastal Delray Beach, is known locally as the man who brought a world-class string quartet to the Village by the Sea, providing enjoyment to fans and employment to two exceptional laid-off violinists.
Thompson’s résumé is especially impressive when you consider he’s endured tinnitus (ringing in the ears) almost his entire life. His love of music grew out of the pleasing audible distraction it provided him, and his love for classical sacred music deepened after he embraced Christianity as a teenager.
A native of Pennsylvania, Thompson had a career in sales that led him to New York City. While working for Foster Forbes Glass Co., he had an idea for a new type of packaging.
“Foster Forbes made beer bottles that held 90 PSI (pounds per square inch) of pressure,” Thompson said. “My reasoning was, an 18 PSI aerosol bottle would be totally safe.” At the time (late 1950s), perfumes and other liquid products were packaged in tin cans or coated glass bottles. Thompson designed an uncoated glass bottle with an aerosol delivery system and opened his own manufacturing business.
“Virtually every cosmetic company in the world bought my bottles,” Thompson said. “I literally had a monopoly.” He operated the business for 25 years before selling it to Heinz-Glas of Germany.
Thompson became an art collector and commissioned a painting from one of his favorite painters, surrealist Salvador Dali. Thompson met with Dali and asked him to portray the Second Coming of Christ from the Bible’s book of Revelations.
“My sales pitch was, you’ve already painted the Last Supper and the Crucifixion of St. John. How about painting the Second Coming?” said Thompson. “He loved the idea, and a year later I got my painting, which has been all over the world at art exhibitions.”
Thompson was a bachelor until, at age 69, he met his wife, Mary, on a tennis court. “When she told me she’d studied nursing, I figured I’d have to marry her,” Thompson says with a wink.
Don and Mary both enjoy art, tennis, travel, tango dancing and both serve as deacons at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.
— Paula Detwiller
10 Questions
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I went to the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., and then to the University of North Carolina, where I got a business degree. I’ve always had a love for the arts, and I’ve been a promoter all my life. I started a dance band at Hill School and I had a rock ’n’ roll band at UNC called the Banana Bunch, “the band with a peel.” I played the piano.
Q. How and when did the Delray String Quartet begin?
A. When I moved to Florida and understood that the Florida Philharmonic under James Judd was going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, I approached the principal violinists and suggested we start a quartet with their choice of viola player and cello player. That was the birth of the Delray String Quartet seven years ago. I’m one of the major underwriters, but we do have support from other music lovers in South Florida. I made a deal with Jestena Boughton, proprietor of the Colony Hotel, to play five concerts a year there. We’ve now got other venues and do a total of 16 concerts a year.
Q. What other hobbies have you had, and what were the highlights?
A. I grew up playing tennis. I won a boys national championship when I was 15. I played the U.S. tennis circuit in my 20s and beat Arthur Ashe in doubles once. My doubles partner for that match was Paul Cranis, who lives here in Delray. I also won a Florida state senior championship (65 and over).
I still play regularly at the Delray Tennis Center, the Delray Beach Club and Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club, but only three times a week now because my knees are wearing out.
Q. Why is music important to you?
A. I’ve had ringing in my ears since I was 10 years old. I developed tinnitus from an ear infection. Music has always provided a good soothing background against the tinnitus. I have almost perfect pitch, so I learned to play the piano by ear. I also composed some classical music when I was 18 or 19.
Q. How did you choose to make your home in Delray Beach?
A. After checking out the entire east coast of Florida, I found Delray had the best beaches and the people gave me a warm feeling.
Q. What is your favorite part about living in Delray?
A. All the great restaurants and all the many tennis facilities. Seems like most of the retired tennis players I’ve known through the years have moved to Delray.
Q. What book are you reading now?
A. Two books: Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis, and The Language of God, by Francis Collins, a former atheist who was head of the Human Genome Project.
Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
A. Franz Lehar’s operetta waltzes when I want to relax, and when I need inspiration, Wagner’s Ring.
Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. I figure Paul Newman. He was a great competitor, he gave to charities, plus I’ve got the blue eyes.
IF YOU GO
Delray String Quartet
Remaining seasonal concerts:
April Program:
Robert Schumann, Quartet No. 3 in A Major
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 22
Sunday, April 3 — The Colony Hotel, Delray Beach
3:30 p.m. Pre-concert informal discussion
4 p.m. concert
Friday, April 8 — All Saints Episcopal Church, Fort Lauderdale
7 p.m. Pre-concert informal discussion
7:30 p.m. concert
Sunday, April 10 — St. David’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church, Wellington
3:30 p.m. Pre-concert informal discussion
4 p.m. concert
Sunday, April 17 — St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Coconut Grove
4 p.m. concert
For ticket information and availability, call (561) 213-4138 or e-mail: Tickets@DelrayStringQuartet.com.
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