Charles Frederick 'Bud' Thompson, 99

WARNER — Charles Frederick “Bud” Thompson of Warner, historian, lecturer, teacher, singer, historical preservationist and founder of several museums in New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 12, 2021, at 99 years of age. Along with all his accomplishments Bud was a person who certainly enjoyed a good joke, active conversations, broad smiles and laughter, and friendship shared with food and coffee.

Bud was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on April 12, 1922, the son of Alexander Whitehill Thompson Jr. and Margaretta (Schleith) Thompson. At age 16 Bud had his own weekly radio show on station WMEX in the Boston area, appearing on the program as “The Singing Cowboy.” His interest eventually turned to classical music and opera. He studied opera singing under the tutelage of Alexander Kipnis, the lead basso of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After his marriage to Harriett Waller, an organist, pianist, and music teacher, he sang in operas for one season on Cape Cod and then later became a traveling folksinger, performing a repertoire that included traditional music of America and the British Isles as well as operatic arias. His desire to publish a book of previously undiscovered folk music drew him into studying the music of 18th- and 19th-century American communal societies. The book was never written, but his research led him to become a close friend of the members of the Shaker colony in Canterbury, New Hampshire, and eventually he moved to the village with his family to live with and work for the Shakers. He originated the concept of the historical restoration at Canterbury Shaker Village; founded the museum there with the assistance of Sisters Bertha Lindsay, Lillian Phelps, and Marguerite Frost; assembled the original collection around which the institution coalesced; and became the museum’s curator. Today Canterbury Shaker Village is internationally known as a non-profit museum and historic site that has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is visited by thousands.

Ever seeking to awaken Americans to their national heritage, the wonder of the natural world, and the qualities of the spiritual person, Bud delivered slide lectures on the Shakers and Native Americans for over thirty years to hundreds of schools and organizations throughout New England. His lectures spread awareness of the Shaker legacy and helped to build public support for Canterbury Shaker Village’s preservation. He also taught courses at Belknap Community College in Center Harbor, NH, and for Antioch University New England’s continuing education programs, and, working under the direction of a professor at Plymouth State University, was a lecturer in a course on Native American history at that institution. Bud also lectured in Elderhostel courses of the University of New Hampshire, Durham.

In 1959 Bud proposed to the Canterbury Shaker Sisters that they conduct a series of public seminars in which they would present papers on various aspects of Shaker history. The talks were given and the papers were eventually published in pamphlet form. He worked with William (“Bill”) Randle, a legendary radio broadcaster, to produce a limited edition phonograph album set called “The Shaker Heritage” which included the Sisters’ seminar lectures, songs sung by them, and interviews with several Shakers. Musical selections from the album, supplemented by additional recordings of the Sisters’ singing made by Shaker music scholar Roger Lee Hall, have been compiled by Mr. Hall into a CD set called “Let Zion Move: The Music of the Shakers” and issued by Rounder Records Corporation.

In the late 1960s, President Franklin Pierce’s home in Concord, New Hampshire, was threatened by Urban Renewal’s wrecking ball. Bud’s friend Carl Bell, the editor of the Concord Shoppers’ News, founded the Pierce Brigade, an organization dedicated to saving the home and turning it into a house museum. Bud served terms as vice-president and then president of the Pierce Brigade and was involved with the successful preservation effort that saw the house eventually moved from Montgomery Street to Old North Main Street where the Pierce Brigade operates it today.

Bud married Nancy (Erickson) Lamb, an elementary school teacher and church soloist, in 1972. Immediately upon their retirement in 1990, Bud and Nancy purchased property in Warner, NH, upon which to establish the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, which they owned and ran for many years. To insure its continuance beyond their deaths, Bud and Nancy donated their collection of artifacts and transitioned the ownership to MKIM. Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum is today visited annually by thousands of adults and children and, through its tours programs, and special events, is dedicated to increasing public knowledge of Native American philosophy, art, and traditions, and to widening awareness of the Native Americans’ understanding of the natural world, resource conservation practices, and respectful land stewardship.

Bud is survived by his wife Nancy Thompson; his former wife Harriett Coupal; son, Darryl Thompson; son, Dayne Thompson and his partner Betsy Thew; stepson, David Lamb and his wife Janet (Murphy) Lamb; stepson, Steven Lamb and his wife Stefanie (Getchell) Lamb; grandson, Avery Thompson; grandson, Warren Thompson; grandson, Alex Thompson, Alex’s son (Bud’s great-grandson) Brandon Thompson, and Brandon’s mother. Maureen Biondo; step-grandson, Michael Perella; step-granddaughter, Amy Lamb; step-granddaughter, Christine (Board) Parent and her husband, Jason Parent and step-great-grandchildren, Lukas Mondor, Charlotte Parent, Harrison Parent, and Hayden Parent; step-grandson, Christopher Lamb; step-granddaughte,r Elizabeth (Lamb) Morris and her husband Bryan Morris and step-great-grandchildren, Jack, Lilly Mae, and Colin Morris; surrogate children Jerry, Cindy, Marie, Paul and Bob Gross; niece Judy (Johnson) Caouette and her husband Jack Caouette and family; nephew Stanwood Johnson, nephew Doug Johnson and his wife Linda; nephew Sherman Johnson and his wife Susan and family; brother-in-law Harry Mirick; nephew Robert “Rusty” Mirick and wife Pamela and family; niece Suzanne (Mirick) Schintzius and family; nephew Don Baker and his wife Laura and family; nephew Fred Baker and his wife Christine and family; nephew Frank Ace and his wife Dr. Constance Larkey Ace and family; friends and caregivers Margi Knott Lord, Dan Reidy, and Mary Nagel who did so much to make his last years so comfortable and full of enjoyment; his very close friends Lenny and Kelly Novak; and his very close friend Andrew Bullock, executive director of Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, and other members of the Bullock family who have done so much to actualize and carry on Bud’s dreams for the museum. Bud was pre-deceased by his parents, his sister Margaretta (Thompson) Johnson and her husband Captain Stanwood Johnson, and his sister-in-law Jean A. (Erickson) Mirick.

A chapter on Bud’s life and work with the Canterbury Shakers is included in Howard Mansfield’s book Chasing Eden: A Book of Seekers (Peterborough, NH: Bauhan Publishing, 2021) which will be available online and in independent bookstores beginning October 5th.

A public memorial service for Bud will be held at Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum property on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that remembrances in Bud’s honor be given to Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum (www.indianmuseum.org).