John Tompkins, Ph.D., was born and grew up in Pacific Palisades, California near the ocean. As a child, adolescent and young adult, he was an avid surfer up and down the California coastline with his two childhood and still lifelong friends. John also played the acoustic guitar. John attended UCLA through undergraduate and graduate school and earned a PH.D. in Physics, specifically High Energy Physics. He worked in the Soviet Union as a part of the first scientific exchange between the US and USSR during the cold war in the 70’s; then worked at Stanford University for 12 years; was a core developer of the Super Conducting Super Collider Project and then scientist at Fermilab for 20+ years. John ended his career a few years ago and was awarded the status of Emeritus Scientist at Fermilab. The last half of John’s career was spent pioneering the science of superconducting magnets that eventually powered the detector at CERN (Switzerland) that allowed for the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012. John worked with colleagues from all over the world and developed a love of learning about people and cultures near and far. John’s greatest achievement and pride is the father he was to Lauren, Katie and Sean. John shuttled his children to and from every activity imaginable, cooked dinners, coached sports and delighted in every aspect of their development. John has 3 granddaughters. Denise is John’s life partner and soul mate in every sense of the word for 43 years. John’s greatest qualities are his humility, kindness and honesty. A Memorial Service will be held at Danada House, 3S501 Naperville Rd., Wheaton, on July 30, 2022 at 11:00 AM. Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Naperville, was entrusted with arrangements.