Thompson founded Thor Industries in 1980 with Peter B. Orthwein, Thor’s vice chairman. Letters from their last names formed the company’s name. Orthwein, 64, is filling Thompson’s positions on an interim basis.
Thor began with the acquisition of Airstream, the travel trailer builder. Thompson turned Airstream around from a $12 million annual loss immediately prior to purchase to a $1 million profit in its first year.
Thor converted to a publicly traded company on Jan. 11, 1984. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 29, 1986, six years to the day after its founding.
The company, a prominent manufacturer of recreation vehicles and buses, has never lost money in its history, management said.
Thompson devoted his last decade to helping to fight cancer, contributing to various programs. He founded the Drive Against Prostate Cancer in 2000, making available two Airstream mobile medical vehicles to provide more than 101,000 free prostate cancer screenings to men. The program is believed to have saved about 5,000 lives due to early detection of cancer, Thor’s board of directors said.
Thompson also supported efforts to restore New York’s Park Avenue Armory for the performing and visual arts, as well as the Central Park Conservancy and Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport Museum.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Thompson is survived by his wife of 42 years, Angela; two children, Charles A. Y. Thompson and Amanda Jane Thompson Riegel, and six grandchildren.