I remember Clive Ian Thompson

Clive Ian Thompson was known as Ian to everyone who knew him. He was born on the 5th of July, 1958, in England. In this picture he looks like a kind, gentle man. He looks like a family man. He is survived by his wife Lucy, and their daughters Ella and Rachel. In 2001 they all lived in Summit, New Jersey. Reading other sites about him, it seems to me he must have had a lot of friends, both in America and in England. He liked to cook for his wife and daughters. He played golf recreationally, liked to play cards, or watch movies. I picture him sitting on a couch with his arm around at least one of his daughters, watching his favorite movie, "Life is Beautiful." If you have seen this movie, Roberto Benigni's character helps his son survive WWII Nazi camp by keeping life fun. Ian strikes me as the type of person who would make a child laugh to make her forget her arm is broken and being set.

Ian worked at Euro Brokers for 22 years. He started at the London Office in 1979, and transferred to New York in 1992. This means he worked in the towers when they were bombed in 1993. Ian helped an asthmatic down the stairs to safety from the 31st Floor of the North Tower where the Euro Brokers office was then located. In 1999, he helped pull a man out of a burning car on the Pulaski Skyway on his way to work. This says to me that in all likelihood, Ian was trying to help people on that infamous day in 2001. I haven't a doubt in my mind that he was. His office was on the 84th floor of the south tower. The north tower was hit first, and Ian called his wife Lucy to tell her he was OK after the first plane hit. Ian most likely helped calm people as they witnessed the horror through the windows, watching the first tower burn.

Ian volunteered with a local Volunteer First Aid Squad as an EMT. People who do this sort of volunteering are the people who genuinely want to help other people. He wasn't paid for that work. He just wanted to help people. Posthumously, he is recognized in the 2002 New Jersey State EMS Memorial as having died in the line of duty. He was known for being very gentle with people he was helping, and was often assigned to help babies and children. To me, he definitely looks like the face you would want to see rescuing you, or holding your hand on the way to the hospital. He's the kind of person who probably got thank-you notes from people he assisted.

This picture makes me smile. Ian is in the center, and looks like he is having an excellent time. Someone who dresses up like this knows how to have a good time with his buddies. At a service held for Ian shortly after 9/11, his wife requested that everyone wear brightly colored clothes in memorial of him. He liked to have fun, and would have wanted people to be happy, not mourn. He is remembered by friends and family as being someone who had more fun than most people, often allowing himself to be the target of good-natured jokes, such as being pummeled with water balloons.



Ian started a carpet cleaning business on the side, Albright Carpet Cleaning. He became a master carpet cleaner. Friends of Ian remember him as being a renaissance man. He had a lot of interests, and a lot of friends. Hopefully some of them will see my tribute. Hopefully I have done a good job of remembering Clive Ian Thompson. I am sure that his friends and family have no problem remembering a man full of life, a soulmate, a wonderful father, brother, uncle, and a great friend.
I remember Clive Ian Thompson

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