From the time he was young, Daryl Thompson understood the value of education and its link to the community. The son of an elementary school teacher and principal, Mr. Thompson grew up in the small central Illinois town of Manito, where his father also worked part-time jobs in the downtown.
“My father coached, he taught, he worked in the local hardware store and as a meter-reader for the city,” Mr. Thompson wrote recently in a brief autobiography. “He knew many parents, virtually everyone as it appeared to me, and he was able to use those connections to help the school and its students. Very early, his relationships showed me the importance of the interconnection of the school and the community.”
Mr. Thompson, 64, of Geneva, a retired teacher, assistant principal and principal at Oswego High School, died from heart failure Wednesday, Jan. 15, in Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva.
Beginning in 1961 with his first teaching position, and throughout his 37-year career in education at Oswego High School, Mr. Thompson was the primary force behind the high school’s steady and successful growth, as it shifted from being a rural high school of 350 students to a growing suburban high school of 1,550 students.
From 1974 until his retirement in 1998, Mr. Thompson was principal of the high school. Under his leadership, many student programs and services were implemented and staff morale remained strong in spite of financial cutbacks and failed school referendums.
He initiated a community craft show fundraiser in the early 1980s to cover monetary cutbacks and established a fund for student scholarships and staff development for Oswego teachers. He also extended the high school facility’s use to include summer school, evening classes for Waubonsee Community College, Park District programs and the telecommunications instructional classes via distance learning.
Mr. Thompson actively promoted school/business/community partnerships and found innovative methods to link the classroom with the business world. In 1997, the Oswego High School Medical Topics partnership with Rush-Copley Memorial Hospital received the Award of Excellence from the Illinois State Council on Business/Education Partnerships.
“He was a dedicated teacher and educator, but most importantly, he was just a pure heart,” said his wife of 10 years, Mary Jo Savol-Thompson. “He was never judgmental, but rather saw the good in his students, in people in general, and built many strong, lasting relationships. He worked tirelessly at his profession, because he believed so strongly in it. He believed that education is the key to shaping a person’s life.”
A graduate of Illinois State University, Mr. Thompson held several professional offices and earned many awards over the course of his career. He was the recipient of the “Those Who Excel” Education Award and the Coca-Cola Educator of the Month Award. He also served on the Illinois High School Association Legislative Commission and was director of the Illinois Principals Association, Region 7.
Other survivors include a son, Mark; a daughter, Janis Labroo; his children’s mother, Karel Thompson; two sisters, Wanda Schmidgall and Joyce Rochester; six grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday in Yurs-Wittenberg Funeral Home, 1771 W. State St., Geneva. Services will be 10 a.m. Saturday in the United Methodist Church of Geneva, 211 Hamilton St.
