Robert P. Thompson, 94, lumber company owner

Robert P. Thompson, 94, of Huntingdon Valley, a lumber company owner who traveled the world in search of exotic hardwoods to be made into high-end products, died Wednesday, Sept. 24, of heart failure at Abington Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Thompson spent his entire career as president of Thompson Mahogany Co., the Philadelphia firm started by his great-grandfather in 1843.

Beginning in 1946 and until retiring in the mid-1990s, he traveled to Africa and South America seeking out mahogany and arranging for it to be shipped into the ports of Philadelphia and Camden.

"He would float on a raft down the Amazon River in Brazil to find the wood. Once the trees were identified, he would mark them with a certain color stripe. Then the logs were cut and floated down the Amazon during the rainy season to the Atlantic," his son, Peter, said.

The exotic wood was then sold by the Thompson firm to wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers in the United States and Canada. It later was used to make Steinway pianos, Smith & Wesson gunstocks, Henkel Harris furniture, funeral caskets, and exotic art. When Mr. Thompson retired, he continued to counsel the firm and serve as its ambassador, his family said.

Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Thompson graduated from the William Penn Charter School in 1938. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University in 1942.

While there, he was a member of the Cannon Club. He regularly returned to class reunions, including his recent 70th reunion, where his family said he walked among the Old Guard.

He served in Europe as a paratrooper during World War II. Mr. Thompson's hobbies included fly fishing in Labrador, Iceland, Alaska and deer hunting in the Poconos.

He volunteered for 50 years at Abington Memorial Hospital, serving as chairman of the board and then as an emeritus director of the hospital. An avid believer in the value of education, he was active in recruiting talented candidates for admission to Princeton.

Mr. Thompson told his family that he was first emeritus member of Bright Creek Park Association, which he joined in 1944. The nonprofit fly-fishing club is based in Canadensis, Pa.

He also was a longtime member of Huntingdon Valley Country Club and lived in a house overlooking its eighth hole for most of his life.

He was married to Mary Louise Rebmann, who died in 2013. They were together for more than 60 years.

Peter Thompson described his father as a man with a good sense of humor and a lifelong drive for learning. "He had a desktop computer before his children did and at 90 determined to master the iPhone," his son said.

Kind and humble, Mr. Thompson always put the needs of others first. "He never sought attention but quietly solved problems without fanfare," his son said.

Besides his son Peter, he is survived by two other sons, Robert P. Jr., and Christopher W.; and six grandchildren.

A memorial Service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at St. Thomas' Church Whitemarsh, 610 Church Rd., Flourtown. Burial is private.

Donations may be made to Abington Memorial Hospital via: www.abingtonhealth.org/WaysOfGiving/.