Daniel T. Thomson

1930 - 2010

Dan T. Thomson passed away in La Quinta, Calif. at home on December 7, 2010 after a long courageous battle with a rare brain disease, CBD. Born into life on May 5, 1930 in Ticonic, Iowa he was preceded in death by his parents, Gerald Thomson and Honsen (Phillips) Thomson Davies. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy A. (Brown) Thomson of 58 years; children, Steven G. Thomson of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Anne (Don) Delaney of Wheaton, Ill.; Daniel S. Thomson of Las Vegas, Nev., Thomas (Jeanne) Thomson of Coto de Caza, Calif.; grandchildren, Allison, Andrew and Emily Delaney, Cody Thomson, Danielle, Sam and Spencer Thomson; a sister, Cathryn O. Greigg of Bethesda, Md.; nieces, Valerie Dugan, Heather Greigg and Cathryn Murphy of Washington DC, and an aunt, Cathryn P. Caldwell of Glendora, Calif. Dan was a seaman in the United States Navy serving during the Korean War. He attended the University of Southern California and was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. In 1956 he returned to the Midwest to the Chicago area where he became involved in a lighting business venture which would become Halo Lighting. Dan spent his entire career with Halo, becoming president in 1975. Through various mergers and acquisitions it became Cooper Lighting, a division of Cooper Industries, where he would remain president of Cooper Lighting until his retirement in 1994. During his life he always found time for family and friends. He raised his family in Inverness, Ill., also having a home since 1985 in La Quinta. Dan became a permanent resident of La Quinta, Calif. in 1994 upon his retirement. His business acumen lead him to be on the boards of William Rainey Harper College of Palatine, Ill., Buehler YMCA of Palatine, Ill. and a member of The Presbyterian Church of Barrington, Barrington Hills, Ill. He was a founding board member of Barrington Bank & Trust, and co-founder of Peter Daniel, Inc. in Barrington, Ill. An avid golfer, his home club was Inverness Golf, Palatine, Ill. where he was a past president. He was a member of various golf clubs in the La Quinta area. He was tremendous fan of both Chicago and LA sports teams. Services will be held Sunday, December 12, 2010 at the Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church at 3:00 p.m., 47321 Highway 74, Palm Desert, Calif. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial donations be made to AFTD (Rare Disorders) Radner Station Bldg., Suite 200, 290 King of Prussia Rd., Radnor, PA 19087 or The Palm Desert Presbyterian Church, 47321 Hwy 74, Palm Desert, CA 92260.