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Thompson FourFoundationThe Thompson Four Foundation

Governance

Board of Directors

The board is drawn from the descendant lines of the Four, so that no single branch of the family speaks for the whole record. Aubrey Lee left no descendants. His seat is held rather than left empty, so that all four are represented.

In memoriam

Portrait of Don Hanes, wearing an LSU cap.

Don Hanes

Founding Board Member

Line of William Roger

Died May 15, 2026

Father of the Foundation's president. The two of them were discussing the formation of this Foundation in the time before he died. He died of ALS on May 15, 2026, before he could take his rightful place as a founding board member.

His seat is held open on this page. A foundation built to keep a family’s record should be able to keep its own.

A faded colour photograph of an elderly William Thompson Hanes, in glasses, shirt and tie, holding his newborn great-grandson in his arms.
William Thompson Hanes, who went into uniform for the First World War, holding his great-grandson Brandon Hanes, who founded this Foundation.

Why the board looks like this

Four generations, one record.

The man in this photograph served in the First World War. Four of his children served after him. The child in his arms founded the Foundation that keeps their record.

That is why the seats are allocated by line of descent rather than by convenience. The documents, the photographs, the medals and the memories are not held in one house. They are scattered across the branches of one family, and the only way to assemble them is to seat each branch at the same table.

Three of the Four left descendants. Aubrey Lee did not. Rather than leave his seat empty, the president holds it, so that the eldest of the Four is represented at the table that keeps his record. He is the one of the Four with nobody obliged to remember him, which is the plainest argument this Foundation has for its own existence.

Standing of the organization

The Thompson Four Foundation is being organized as a Louisiana nonprofit corporation. Application for recognition of exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is in progress. Contributions are not yet tax deductible.

Bylaws, the conflict-of-interest policy, and annual filings will be published here once the organization is formed and exemption is recognized.

How the Foundation publishes →