Agnes Moore Thompson, 91, died Dec. 5, 2020, in Lenox while in isolation and under care for COVID-19. Family held her in their thoughts with the heart-wrenching hope she felt their love.
Agnes was born March 18, 1929, in North Adams to Charles Jacob Moore and Helen Langham Moore. She grew up a cheerful child on several upstate New York dairy farms, the last being the Langmore Farm and Dairy Bar in Clums Corners, New York. In 1946 she graduated from Averill Park High School in Averill Park, New York, where she excelled in math and science. In 1947, Agnes, undeterred by mid-century gender roles, enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, to pursue a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. At the award of her 1951 diploma, she was among the earliest women to graduate from that institution.
Agnes met her husband, John (Jack) R. Thompson Jr., a fellow RPI student, on her 18th birthday. They married Feb. 3, 1951, at the St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church in Troy, New York. Accepting jobs in New York City — Agnes an engineering position in the Manhattan, New York, offices of Cluett Peabody — the newly married couple settled in Queens, New York. Agnes held her engineering post until the birth of their first daughter. She and Jack enjoyed raising three girls — Amy, Maureen and Lesliejohn — in a home filled with love, laughter, books, music and art.
Work opportunities landed Agnes and Jack in Ossining, New York, Towanda, Pennsylvania, and Clums Corners, New York, during their long and happy marriage. While in Pennsylvania, Agnes reentered the workforce as an educator. She earned a Master of Science in education from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, and taught advanced mathematics at Towanda High School in Towanda, Pennsylvania, and Tamarac Middle and High School in Troy, New York. She retired from teaching in 1985. As a reflection of her ability to foster passion for math and convey genuine interest in her students, many maintained contact with her after her retirement. She was also active in the New York State Retired Teachers Association and held officer positions in her local chapter.
Retired, Agnes and Jack, always a tight team, self-trained as cyclists and took part in U.S. and European bicycle tours. They became avid campers and went on extended cross-country trips throughout the United States. They visited all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. At home they gardened and raised several Bouvier de Flanders, most of them named Andre. Agnes took pride in fostering a close family dynamic so, in her later years, her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were an important part of her life. Long, informative phone calls and funny texts were frequent; visits were often. Two of her great-grandchildren inherited her mathematical proclivity, and that tickled her.
In 2004, Agnes and Jack moved to Lenox, making Kimball Farms Retirement Community their last home.
Agnes was a brilliant, thoughtful and resolutely independent woman. Aside from her prodigious skill in mathematics, she had talents in music, having taught piano for several years; cooking; computing; and encouraging orchids, a favorite flower, to bloom. She was an avid nonfiction reader and had a fantastic ability to understand and discuss a wide spectrum of complex subjects.
Agnes was predeceased by her husband and a grandson, Jacob Loucka. Carrying forward wonderful memories of Agnes are her daughters and their husbands: Amy Thompson West and Nils Westerlund, Las Cruces, New Mexico; Maureen and Tom Phillips, Ashland, Oregon; and Lesliejohn and Jim Roche, Lenox. Grandchildren are Gretchen (Loucka) Harris, Tucker Roche, Magda Rose (Phillips) Paz and Trevin Philips. Her great-grandchildren, many of whom got to know their great-grandmother, are Lupin and Escher Paz, Aymeric, Audrey and Agatha Harris, and Mae and Margot Phillips.
Agnes’ family and friends will fete her for many years to come, for she was a unique lady. In the coming year, family will celebrate her accomplished and beautiful life at private ceremonies in Lenox and at her favorite oceanside spot in Bar Harbor, Maine. In remembrance of Agnes’ life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to the Berkshire Humane Society or a charity of choice.
