Robert Alan Thompson

DELANSON - Robert Alan Thompson of Main St., formerly of Gallupville Rd. died on Thursday August 6, 2026 at Robinson Terrace Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Stamford, NY which is described as Queen of the Catskills after a three month illness. He was 89 years old and had lived in Schenectady County for 58 years. He was born on July 16, 1937 in his beloved Catskill Mountains.

In his very early years in Windham, Bob was raised by his hardworking parents, Donald and Eva, until his mother passed away when he was seven years old. Following this, his father married Bob's outstanding and hardworking stepmother, Phyllis Parkman who raised Bob, his three brothers and his new loving sisters, Wendy and Mary Brooke.

After graduating from Windham High School, he graduated from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. In 1962 he was drafted and completed basic training in the Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky where he served as squad leader. Next, he returned to educational studies at the University of Rochester, New York where he received a PhD. At the University of Rochester his graduate studies were centered on analytical work in aeronautical engineering which included research on staging joints of the Saturn 5 rocket.

While employed at the Corporate Research and Development Center of General Electric Co for 31 years, his research was in various areas such as nuclear fuel pellet pressing, strain gauge measurement, grinding, shot peening, lucalux lamp improvement and development of a chip sorting machine. Lastly, before retirement, Bob accepted work on solving locomotive piston failure problems in Erie, PA which he liked the best of all his problems to solve.

His honors include being a member of Tau Beta Pi Honor society, being named a Fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers along with having , by 1985, twenty four of his articles published in the professional journals of the ASME and other societies. In addition, he was named Shot Peener of the year, was the recipient of the Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award and was the author of over 30 patents for General Electric for which he received three “Invention-Fulcrum of Progress” plaques.

Lastly, in his personal life he was a long-standing member of the National Railroad Historical Society. He was a devoted, affectionate, loving husband and father. He is predeceased by his parents, Donald, Eva, and Phyllis, and his daughter, Amy, along with his three brothers, Herbert, William, and Donald.

He is survived by his wife, Adelaide, his sons, Robert (Anne) and Jason (Kristin), his sisters, Wendy and Mark Brooke, along with his seven grandchildren, Caroline, Brooks, Walker, Blake, Eve, Benjamin, Levi, and many cousins.

A memorial service will take place on Saturday, August 29 at 1:00pm at the United Methodist Church of Delanson (corner of 112 Eastshore Rd and Rt. 395, Main St.) after which a meal/fellowship will take place at the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance Corp. hall (corner of 130 Cole Rd and Rt. 7).

Memorial contributions may be made for the replacement of the church roof addressed to the United Methodist Church of Delanson, P.O. Box 145, Delanson, NY 12053 memo “Capital Account—new roof” or to the Alzheimer’s Disease Research/Bright Focus Foundation, 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871.

Bob will be remembered for his love and devotion to his family, his love of homemade maple syrup, his love of church singing and his love of steam locomotives/trains.

Arrangements by White Van Buren Funeral Home. Condolences can be posted at whitevanburenfuneralhome.com.