[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 159 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E911-E912]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING DR. CAPTANE ``CAP'' PETER THOMSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2023

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
life and legacy of Dr. Captane ``Cap'' Peter Thomson. Dr. Thomson grew 
up in Berkeley, California and lived in Davis, California. He was a 
beloved husband, father, brother, friend, mentor, public servant, and 
leader in the field of mental health
  Dr. Thomson was the second generation of his family to attend the 
University of California (UC), Berkeley and box for their Varsity team. 
After receiving his M.D. from the University of California, San 
Francisco (UCSF), interning at Denver General Hospital, and serving 
four years in the U.S. Public Health Service, Dr. Thomson completed a 
residency in psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 
Boston. Dr. Thomson then earned an M.S. in Community Mental Health at 
the Harvard School of Public Health and spent the next year at the 
University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
  After completing his education, Dr. Thomson settled in Davis and 
became the director and program chief of Yolo County Mental Health 
Services. He held this post for almost three decades, crafting ground-
breaking programs to treat the severely mentally ill and help 
reintegrate people back into our communities. Dr. Thomson also served 
as a clinical professor of psychiatry at UC Davis and UCSF, joyfully 
passing along his wisdom to the next generation of psychiatrists. 
Always going where he was needed, Dr. Thomson gained his Board 
Certification in Forensic Psychiatry and served as an expert witness at 
trials and parole hearings of mentally ill persons caught up in the 
criminal justice system.
  A lifelong adventurer, Dr. Thomson treated the indigenous peoples of 
Alaska as a U.S. Public Health Service Officer on the Bering Sea 
Patrol, sailed between Hawaii and Japan on a Coast Guard weather ship, 
and evaluated aspiring American citizens at the U.S. Consulate in 
Palermo, Italy. He severed as a doctor at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympic 
Games and returned as a member of the Doctor's Ski Patrol at Sugar Bowl 
for 50 years.
  Beyond his work, Dr. Thomson loved travelling with his family, going 
on adventures

[[Page E912]]

around the world, visiting National Parks, and taking his family hiking 
all over his beloved Sierra Nevada mountains, where as a college 
student he worked in Yosemite as a fireguard. A lifelong runner and 
member of the Davis Aquatic Masters, he swam with a team across Lake 
Tahoe and completed numerous endurance swims, triathlons, and eight 
marathons, including the Boston Marathon. Dr. Thomson was also the 
banjo player and back-up vocalist for the popular folk and bluegrass 
music band, The Putah Creek Crawdads, treasurer of the Yolo County 
Credit Union, and avid walker of several generations of Cairn Terriers.
  Dr. Thomson's unfailingly cheerful spirit, humble demeanor, sage 
guidance, and unflinching willingness always to stand up and fight for 
what is right and just, will be sorely missed. He is survived by his 
wife of 60 years, Helen, his children Morag, Iain, and Mungo, their 
spouses Kirsten and Kerry, his grandchildren Darian, Eno, Tamsin, and 
Emit, his brothers Pate and Duncan, and many more loving family 
members.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Captane ``Cap'' Thomson was a dedicated public 
servant and leader in our community.

                          ____________________