Bent L. Thomsen

On November 20th, surrounded by his loving children, Bent L. Thomsen lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 91. By his own account, “I've lived a good life.” He used to joke, “You better keep moving or they will throw dirt on you.”  And he never did stop moving, seeing his trainer, with whom he developed a strong friendship over the years, up to the day before he passed.

Bent was born in Denmark in 1933. He went to boarding school at Herlufsholm School, where he met friends he kept up with until the end. Bent continued his education at Polyteknisk Læreanstalt (Royal Technical University of Denmark), receiving his master’s in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering.  

While working at Diakonissestiftelsen (The Deaconess Foundation), he met his future wife, American Janis Peet. They married and Bent set his sights on moving to the United States. So, in 1958, Bent and Jan immigrated there with their 3-year-old son, Kim Peet, in tow.

Bent had to give up his Danish citizenship to obtain his Engineering license. It proved to be a good decision. One could say he lived the American dream. He worked his way up and purchased Empire Soils Investigations, Inc. In his words, “Empire was a huge part of my life.” Forever a gentleman’s gentleman, he collected many friends who stayed in touch with him over the years. The primary Empire Soils office location was in Groton, New York, where Bent also became a member of First National Bank of Groton’s board and served for 28 years.

Bent‘s hobby was sailing, and he enjoyed many summers at the south end of Skaneateles Lake. His boat of choice was Lightning, with his first vessel aptly named “Viking.” He also enjoyed the nights after races with the South Skaneateles Sailing and Singing Society where he exchanged stories from the day and shared in song.

After living in Homer for many years, Bent took up residency in Skaneateles, NY. There, he volunteered at the Skaneateles Historical Society. Using his European design sense and engineering mind, he made an impact with a significant expansion project to the museum. He was also a member of the Skaneateles Country Club and was involved in the design and building of a highly successful floating dock system in front of the club. 

In 2013, Bent moved to the Catskills to be closer to his daughter. The excitement of this move was dampened by the sudden loss of his second son, Carl Eric Thomsen, to Lupus. 

After the shock of this passed, Bent became a member of The Marbletown Historic Preservation Commission and settled into a relaxed country lifestyle maintaining his gardens just as well as his parents did in Denmark, which was nothing short of beautiful.

Bent is survived by his sister Lilian Nielsen and two children, Kim Peet Thomsen and Elsebeth Kay Thomsen.

Arrangements were held privately. In lieu of flowers, kindly donate to the Skaneateles Historical Society in Bent’s memory. www.skaneateleshistoricalsociety.org He would be happy to see that he continues to make an impact.