ADAMS, Mass. —  

Robert Thompson, 74, passed away unexpectedly on June 3rd, 2026, following an accident. Born on July 9, 1951, in Adams, MA, he was the son of Lester and Agnes “Ma” Thompson. From an early age, Rob was an independent and creative spirit who marched to his own beat and resisted convention. He attended elementary school in Adams and spent the summers in Savoy, MA on Hosford Road. In his early teens he was sent to the storied Lyman School for Boys but thankfully was later transferred to the Brookvale School in Windsor MA, which was a positive formative experience for him. By his late teens, Rob had ridden his motorcycle across the country and settled for a time in San Francisco where he ran a business with his friend Bill Russo. In his mid-twenties he came back to the East Coast and worked for Chet Jones at the Old Stone Mill in Adams where his love for hand-screened wallpaper printing began. He then built and managed a new screen printing plant for Old Stone Mill in North Adams, now the location of the Greylock Works complex. He later was recruited by the distinguished wallpaper company Twigs to build a wallpaper printing plant for them in Boston. There they reproduced the multi-panel historic “Monuments of Paris” murals which are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He fondly recalled his days there, living on Beacon Hill with a view of the Massachusetts State House.

During this time, he would spend many weekends in Savoy, MA, building a house from the ground up on land down the road from his parents' home. After meeting his partner Michele Littrell in Boston, Rob and she settled in the Savoy house, where they had two daughters, Leah and Maria. Life brought its share of challenges, including Michele's diagnosis of MS in the mid-1980s. In time, Rob and Michele separated, and Rob went on to raise their two daughters.

In 1990 Rob started his third wallpaper printing plant, Berkshire Hand-screened Wallpapers in Pittsfield, MA. His firm printed for prestigious clients in the NYC decor industry. Among his notable commissions was a wallpaper order for Clinton's White House. Rob's innovative nature led him to invent a machine for making stria prints that were well received by the markets in NY. After his business closed, he sold the invention and consulted for Chambord Mfg. in New Jersey. He also traveled to Mumbai, India, to train manufacturing teams in production methods there.

In the nineties, Rob met Martha Flood, an accomplished surface designer with whom he collaborated professionally. He and Martha became partners and spent the next three decades together. They shared a common ground of creativity and curiosity, inspiring one another while enjoying their home in Adams and their backyard with a view of Mt. Greylock. In recent years, Rob unearthed an old lathe and took up woodturning, approaching it with the same rigor and focus that had defined his wallpaper career. His basement became a production hub for bowls, clocks, salt and pepper shakers, and other wares. In addition to his creative pursuits, Rob was an avid walker who could be spotted most days making his way through town. He was a keen observer of life and the built environment around him, viewing the world with the ethos "live and let live". A gifted conversationalist, his stories of a life lived on his own terms will endure in the hearts of those who knew him.

Rob is survived by his partner, Martha Flood; his daughters, Leah Thompson and Maria Thompson; his grandson, Jack Bessette; his sisters, Margaret (Thompson) Bozek and Liz Thompson; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Funeral Services will be private for the family. The PACIOREK FUNERAL HOME, 13 Hoosac St., Adams, is in charge of arrangements.

To leave a message of condolence, please go to www.paciorekfuneral.com.