Arthur Carl Thommen, a longtime history teacher in the Sayville school district, died of congestive heart failure on July 17 at home in Moneta, Va. The East Hampton native was 76, and had been ill for 15 months.
Born on Feb. 16, 1943, in Southampton to the former Arlene Daniels and Eugene Herman Thommen, he graduated from East Hampton High School in 1960. He earned a history degree in history from Iowa State University, and a master’s, also in history, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Mr. Thommen and Carole Ann Lawson were married in 1964. They lived in East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Bohemia before settling in Blue Point. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in April.
In 1998, after spending 31 years teaching history at Sayville’s junior high school and high school, Mr. Thommen retired. He and his wife moved to Moneta, to a house on Smith Mountain Lake, because, she said, he felt the need to live near water again after growing up in East Hampton.
He loved reading, especially history texts, and would often visit Civil War battlefields and other historic sites. Playing baseball, both as a child and then as an adult, when he belonged to a senior league, was a favorite pastime.
His wife said he also enjoyed golf and bowling; he loved dogs, and he had a lifelong interest in government and politics.
He liked do-it-yourself projects, she said, and would often take broken objects apart to see how they worked before putting them back in working order. After he retired, he learned how to use a scroll saw, and create pieces that he would give to friends and family.
His wife, Carole Thommen of Moneta, survives, as do two sons, John Arthur Thommen of Crawfordville, Fla., and Carl Frederick Thommen of Willow Grove, Pa. Another son, Raymond Clifford Thommen, died before him. He is also survived by three siblings, Denise Scott of East Hampton, Darlene Liquore of Garwood, N.J., and Eugene H. Thommen Jr. of Mico, Tex., as well as 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in East Hampton at a date to be determined. Burial will be at Oak Grove Cemetery in Amagansett.
The family has suggested memorial contributions to the Bedford Humane Society, 829 Ole Turnpike Drive, Bedford, Va. 24523 or the Moneta Fire Department, 12737 N. Old Moneta Road, Moneta, Va. 24121.