Heritage Snapshot: Part 176

Gordon W. Thompson was born Dec. 19, 1923, in the Walla Walla Sanitarium in Walla Walla, Washington. His father, a Seventh-day Adventist minister, left home and the church when Gordon was only six and a half, right in the middle of the Great Depression when the family desperately needed him. Dr. Thompson says that because he needed a father and didn’t have one he became a scoundrel and troublemaker. A woman at church changed his idea about the nature of the church and character of those who were as devoted to it as she was. She was the first person who treated him nicely even though he didn’t deserve to be treated nicely and, as a result, really changed his life. When Gordon was a small child, he experienced some frightening moments in an old house that creaked. His mother tried to comfort him with Psalm 34:7: “The angel of the lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” He memorized the verse, went upstairs, and saw a huge angel come in behind him; so big he had to duck to get beneath the door frame. He had a huge sword fastened to his belt and was there whenever Gordon needed him. Dr. Thompson still remembers his angel as “a huge guy with huge muscles on his arms.” Whenever Gordon felt afraid for the rest of his life he would remember his angel. Dr. Thompson claims that he arrived in Southern California as a vagabond at the end of the Great Depression in 1939. At first he got a job in maintenance at La Sierra College that paid 18 cents an hour. That summer he worked as a carpenter’s assistant installing plaster lathe in the institution’s new cafeteria for $3.50 per hour. As a child, Gordon wanted to become a physician, but realized that it would not be possible financially. Because his family’s dire economic situation left him in an awkward position socially, he avoided friendships. Gordon worked his way through La Sierra College, holding down three jobs: lab assistant, janitor and monitor in the men’s dormitory, and night watchmen. He even took his angel with him on rounds as the night watchman. Gordon was more than busy and seldom took vacations because he was in arrears with his tuition. In his retirement, when asked if he wanted the angel included in this biographical sketch, he said, “Yes, that was very important to me.” Gordon, who claims he was a genius at “acting the fool,” eventually attracted Elaine Claire Fink, daughter of Chester Fink, registrar at the College of Medical Evangelists. The Finks were at first greatly miffed at the fact that she had some affection for him in spite of his foolishness. But he became devoted to her and eventually persuaded them that he was a reliable person who was sincere in his affections. Gordon claims that Elaine “was unquestionably the prettiest girl on campus,” that she was a wonderful person. And he had certain religious convictions that seemed to impress her. Gordon and Elaine were married in Burden Hall on July 7, 1946. They had five children. Gordon graduated from CME in 1947, but is considered to be a member of the Class of 1948 because at that time graduates didn’t receive their diplomas until after they had entered an internship. He took his internship at the White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles and a residency in Internal Medicine at Glendale Sanitarium and Hospital. Although the most enjoyable part of his career was patient contact, Dr. Thompson eventually held significant positions of leadership in Loma Linda. He became president of the School of Medicine Alumni Association, president of the Walter E. Macpherson Society, and president of the medical staff at Loma Linda University Medical Center.