Monica N. Thompson

Monica Natalie Thompson, 56, beloved daughter of Dr. Andriana Natale Thompson, MD, and the late Professor John, D Thompson, died peacefully on May 28 surrounded by family and friends at Connecticut Hospice in Branford. Monica left an indelible mark on our world with her sense of humor, artistic talents, and loyalty to all who loved her. Monica was born in New Haven on June 2, 1958, with many natural talents, which she jokingly claimed were “learned in the womb”. By the age of seven Monica was drawing in 3 dimensions and started writing poetry at age 11. Monica later took her talents to Lee High school where she graduated with honors in just 3 years, earning early admission to Emerson School of the Arts in Boston. While at Emerson, she pursued art, theatre, and stage production - priming herself for what was her true love: photography. Monica often supported herself by photographing promising young talents, including Dennis Leary, Michael Bolton, and Robert Downey Jr. She could be found at every rock concert camera in hand and she published photos of Mick Jaggar, David Bowie, and the Ramones. Always ahead of her time, in the early 1980s Monica combined her talents to create music videos in New Haven with local bands, all before the advent of Music Television (MTV). This passion for videography eventually led her to New York City where she worked on the MTV productions for the B52’s. Leaving her rock star days behind Monica started working with CBS News as a photographer-reporter. Barely 5 feet tall, she earned a reputation for being able to maneuver through any crowd carrying a 40-pound camera. Her tenacity and expertise led to several high profile assignments at CBS and earned her an Emmy nomination by age 27 for her footage of Hurricane Gloria in Fire Island in 1985. Monica then tackled the non-profit world working for Save the Children and the World Health Organization where she photographed and created documentaries of people living in poverty around the world. Eventually returning to broadcasting, Monica also worked for Channel 8 in New Haven, WNPR, and CPTV. At the time of her death Monica was working on 2 projects: “The Saints of Consequence”, a fictional story about Alex Rackley, the murdered Black Panther at the center of the 1970 trial in New Haven; and a 27-panel colored drawing of the World Trade Center attacks on Sept 11, 2001. Monica leaves behind six siblings, Margaret D. Thompson of Newton and Julie Creamer (Skip) of Milton MA, Anthony (Carolyn) Thompson, Siobhan Thompson and Deirdre Hamilton of Branford, CT, Maire Thompson of San Francisco, CA, and several loving nieces and nephews. The Thompson family would also like to acknowledge the support of her wonderful friends during her illness and the incredibly talented staff of the CT Hospice in Branford. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Aedan Church, Fountain St. New Haven. Burial will follow in St. Lawrence Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, The Thompson family would ask that donations be made to the John D. Thompson Hospice Institute for Research, Education and Training, 100 Double Beach Road, Branford, CT 06405. Sisk Brothers Funeral Home 3105 Whitney Ave. Hamden in care of arrangements. To leave an online condolence please visit www.siskbrothers.com

Monica N. Thompson

June 2, 1958 - May 28, 2015