Skeptics might scoff, but 22-year Claremont resident Wayne Thompson could, in fact, find water using a forked willow branch. “Wayne the Water Dowser,” as he was known in Sonoma County, was so successful at his unique talent that he was written about in the Smithsonian magazine. He was also a member of the American Dowsing Society.

“His ability to dowse for water helped to build the family water well drilling company into one of the largest in the state,” said his son-in-law, Philip Connolly.

According to family, Mr. Thompson was very proud of his ability to locate water underground by dowsing. He once commented that he would like to be remembered as a dowser who could find water in difficult areas.

At age 82, Mr. Thompson died on May 20, 2009 in his bedroom at his Claremont home after a yearlong battle with a brain tumor.

“He was best known for his permanent smile and infectious laugh,” wrote his daughter, Lori Connolly, in a remembrance.  “Wayne loved people. He never met a person (or a horse) he didn’t like. Wayne never met a day he didn’t like. He was a man who loved life and let everyone know it.”

Mr. Thompson was born in Modesto on March 26, 1927 to Walter and Mary Thompson. He and his family moved around California operating various family businesses. They lived in Ceres, Modesto, Livermore, Tracy and Willits, finally settling in Santa Rosa where they started the well drilling business, Weeks Drilling and Pump Co., which remains a family-run company today.

At the end of World War II, Mr. Thompson served as a cook in the navy. After his tour of duty, he returned home and met his wife of 60 years, Jeannine Ullstrom Thompson. They were married in 1949 and lived in Sonoma County until 1982 when he retired from serving as sales manager for the family company.

From this era with the well drilling business, people around Sonoma County would remember him running around their property with his trusty willow branch, searching for—and finding—the perfect spot to drill a water well. Locally and more recently, he gave a number of talks at community colleges and to other groups on water dowsing.

Like his father, Mr. Thompson was also a cowboy. He loved to ride horses and particularly enjoyed his many rides with the S.C. Trailblazers and the many friends he made there. After retirement, he and his wife moved to southern California to be nearer to his favorite spot on earth, Posada Concepcion. For the past 22 years, Claremont was home.

Mr. Thompson belonged to numerous civic organizations. He was a Shriner, served on the Sebastopol Parks and Recreation Committee, Sebastopol Apple Blossom Festival Organizing Committee, Sonoma County Trailblazers, Pomona Valley TriCity Council, CAMI and the Marshall Canyon Mounted Auxiliary Unit and also helped found the BIACO Club in Pomona, an organization to assist mentally ill patients and their families.

He also belonged to the Claremont branch of the self-named “Smudgers,” a group of folks who met most mornings over coffee near the corner of Yale Avenue and First Street to discuss world events and argue about whose turn it was to pay.

Mr. Thompson is survived by his wife, Jeannine Thompson of Claremont; his daughter and son-in-law, Lori and Philip Connolly of Lake Arrowhead; his son, Barton Thompson of Claremont; his daughter-in-law, Lin Thompson of Graton; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Jerry and Joyce Thompson of Sebastopol, Robert and Jocelyn Thompson of Santa Rosa and Ward and Pat Thompson of Santa Rosa; his grandsons, Ryan Connolly and his wife Elizabeth (Wilcutt) Connolly of Beverly Hills, Brandon Connolly of San Diego, Austin Connolly of Shell Beach and Sean Thompson of Graton; his granddaughters, Erin Whitfield and her husband Steve Whitfield of Oxford, North Carolina and Alexandra Connolly of Carlsbad; his great-granddaughters, Elisa Connolly and Katherine Whitfield; and by his many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his father, Walter Thompson, in 1959; his mother, Mary Thompson, just recently, in April 2009; and by his eldest son, Gregory Thompson in 2001.

A memorial service to celebrate Mr. Thompson’s life will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2009 at Claremont United Methodist Church, 211 W. Foothill Blvd. where he and his wife were members.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of Southern California, who did an excellent job of caring for Wayne in the latter stages of his life, shared the family: VNA & Hospice, 150 W. First St., #270, Claremont, CA 91711.