Delores J. Thompson | Guidance counselor, 75

Delores J. Thompson, 75, of Mount Airy, a guidance counselor at Simon Gratz High School for 36 years, died of cancer Dec. 5 at Keystone Hospice in Flourtown.

Mrs. Thompson instilled in students "a drive to succeed," her daughter Lyn Thompson-Gibson said. She exposed them to cultural, educational and social opportunities, her daughter said, and organized trips to the Philadelphia Flower Show, to plays in New York and Philadelphia, to ski resorts in the Poconos and to colleges in the tri-state area.

Her daughter said her mother told the students she advised, "Don't even come in here unless it's about the college you want to attend. You've got to go to college." She retired in 1993.

Mrs. Thompson graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls and earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in education counseling from Temple University.

She enjoyed vacations in the Virgin Islands and trips to Virginia to visit relatives. She also made trips to Hong Kong, Italy, and Spain. Her favorite trip was to Africa with her daughter and granddaughter, Desiree Thompson.

She was a fan of cooking shows on WHYY TV12 and loved gardening and sudoku puzzles.

In addition to her daughter and granddaughter, she is survived by her former husband, Leonard R. Thompson.

A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Lovett Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, where Mrs. Thompson often visited with her daughter and granddaughter, at 6945 Germantown Ave. She donated her body to science.

Donations may be made to Dolores J. Thompson Memorial Fund, Citizens Bank, 7700 Crittenden St., Philadelphia 19118, for scholarships for Simon Gratz High School students.