Thompson Walter Dillin

Thompson Walter Dillin (Tom) passed away in his sleep on May 31 at his home in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Mr. Dillin, a Florida native, graduated from Florida State University, after which he worked as an accountant for the St. Regis Paper Company in Jacksonville and Atlanta. Meanwhile, he had completed training for the US Army Special Forces and was attached from 1962-1964 to 13th Special Forces, Jacksonville. He was a Green Beret with training in jungle warfare.

In the mid-1960s, he was accepted by the Central Intelligence Agency.  He soon joined a CIA team in South Vietnam where for the next two years he worked closely with Montagnard tribesmen in Vietnam’s embattled Central Highlands.

Dillin was later posted to Central America, where the former Soviet Union was expanding its influence. Afterward, he returned to CIA headquarters where he worked in the office of CIA Director William Colby.

After government service, Dillin’s second career was as a financial adviser, mostly for Merrill Lynch.

In retirement, Tom wanted to find the perfect spot to settle. He launched on a months-long solo journey that took him to Texas, Montana, Oregon, and other states in the West before he discovered Idaho. Soon after, he and his late wife Brigitte settled in Sandpoint from the Washington, D.C. area.

In Idaho, Tom took an interest in state government issues, including a bill he helped to initiate to reform civil asset forfeiture laws.

Tom is survived by a daughter, Heather Elizabeth Dillin Wilson of Tampa; two granddaughters, Savannah Rose and Charlotte Lily; a brother, John Dillin, of Arlington, VA; a sister, Virginia Hauswald, of Winston-Salem, N.C.; a niece and three nephews.

Private family services are planned. Memorial donations may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.