The Tompkins Times

THE Tompkins Times
August 2, 1953 – June 2, 2023
SPECIAL EDITION | REMEMBERING JOHN C. TOMPKINS
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN VOL. 69 • ISSUE 01
The Life and Times of John Charles Tompkins
JOHN was born
in Greensboro,
North Carolina
to John Edward
Tompkins and Hilda
(Ebbers) Tompkins.
Both of John’s parent’s
were from
Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada.
As fate would
have it — or perhaps,
God’s divine
purpose — ink ran
through the veins of
the Tompkins family.
As a young child in the harsh winters of Canada, John Sr. took
on the job of paperboy and worked his way to the top ending up at
The Edmonton Bulletin. During the war, Hilda Ebbers took on a
reporting job at The Bulletin. She caught the attention of many —
endearingly known as “Jeep” because she was small and fast. John
Sr. took notice too . . . a “special” notice.
After marriage, John and Hilda eventually landed in the U.S.
where John began a long career with Howard Publications. Their
work took them from Pocatello, Idaho to Greensboro, N.C. (where
John and his brother Michael were born) to Chester, Pennsylvania
(where his sister Patricia was born) to Hammond, Indiana where
John Sr. became Publisher of The Hammond Times where he affectionately
became known as “The Black Knight” because he always
wore a black suit, tie and black shoes. Both John and his brother
Mike began their newspaper careers in their youth at The Times.
Like his father, John began as a paperboy and worked his way
through the many departments of the news business learning what
it took to run a newspaper.
Anyone that knew John would tell
you he was a serious young man (and
kid!) with a very strong will. John
spent one year at Culver Military
Academy and then went on to attend
Illiana Christian High School where
at the age of seventeen he met a
young and shy fifteen-year-old named
Cindy Hardcastle. John and Cindy
dated through high school before
John went off to Calvin College. After
two years at Calvin, Cindy joined
John there. They got married during
her first year of college, but had to
return to Hammond for John to help
his father at The Hammond Times
during a strike by the International
Typographical Union.
the Baptist church he went door-to-door soul winning every Saturday.
Later in life he taught an ever-growing Sunday School class at
Rockford First Assembly (now City First Church) and also spent
time mentoring young men. Not only was John passionate about
teaching others the importance of knowing God’s Word and how
to study it, he was passionate about giving financially and building
God’s Kingdom. Even into his last years, friends report how John
would speak to them about his faith, pray with them, and invite
them to learn how to study the Bible.
An entrepreneur at heart John wasn’t satisfied to work himself
into a publishing position and remain in that role. He was a visionary
and had dreams to build his own media company. It was after
one of Dr. Jack Hyles’s sermons “Seven Steps to Success” that
John put together on a napkin his plan to purchase his first newspaper.
After gathering a few investors, among family and friends,
at the young age of twenty-one, in 1975, John purchased his first
newspaper, The Rochelle News-Leader in Rochelle, Illinois. John
and Cindy packed what little possessions they had and left the city
life of Chicago for a farm town in rural Rochelle.
John was an avid reader and believed he could learn anything
from books. He devoured biographies and business books learning
from the mistakes and successes of others. Studying the likes
of Rupert Murdoch, The Scripps Family, and the newspapermen
of London’s Fleet Street (to name a few) John was eager to begin
looking for acquisitions. In 1978 (?) he purchased his second community
newspaper in Central Illinois, The Clinton Daily Journal.
And from there, he established News Media Corporation. With his
brother Mike working by his side, he continued to acquire community
newspapers for the next three decades in a span of nine different
states. John not only knew the newspaper business, he knew
people. He cared for his employees whom he always referred to as
his “business family.” He also cared for and took great pride in the
communities, and their histories, that News Media serves.
John and Cindy had three children together: Trina Marie born in
1977; John Warren (known as J.J.) born in 1979; and Amy Lynn
born in 1981. At different times, in their own ways, each child has
learned elements of the newspaper business and worked for News
Media Corporation. Presently, J.J. Tompkins serves as CEO and
President; Trina is a published author and Amy an artist and filmmaker.
All children have an affinity for writing stories, print, and
publishing. Ink still runs strong through the Tompkins veins.
Although John grew up in a Dutch Christian Reformed Church,
Cindy’s mother told him he had to attend First Baptist Hammond
in order to continue dating Cindy. Not many people could tell John
what to do, but there was one person that was as tough as him —
Eleanor Hardcastle, his mother-in-law. John loved hearing Dr. Jack
Hyles speak at First Baptist. Faith was a huge part of John’s life. In
At the young age of
twenty-one, in 1975,
John purchased his first
newspaper, The Rochelle
News-Leader in Rochelle,
Illinois.

PAGE 2 • THE TOMPKINS TIMES
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023
John’s Favorite Scriptures
IT’S impossible for us to share John’s favorite scriptures as
most of his Bible was marked up with red-pen underlines
and yellow highlights. He knew God’s Word and shared it
often. The following selection includes verses and passages that
we knew were special to him and that we often heard him quote.
The many
interests and
hobbies of John
Kung Fu
Tai chi
Reading
Teaching
Sailing
Rodeo
Motorcycle riding
Boating
Bowling
Dogs
Going to the movies
Quoting movies
Watching the same movie
over & over
(He really loved movies!)
Talking on the phone
“In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God Himself.” ( John 1:1)
“So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by
the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not
be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is
with youwherever you go.” ( Joshua 1:9)
“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope
in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will
lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising
toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, They will
walk and not grow tired.” (Isaiah 40:31)
“For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor
drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually
delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith.
And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own
effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;”
(Ephesians 2:8)
“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven [standing
firm and unchangeable]. Your faithfulness continues from
generation to generation; You have established the earth, and
it stands [securely].” (Psalm 119:89-90)
“For we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a
manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s
promises]” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Psalm 91 Hebrews 11 The Book of Ephesians
~ John C. Tompkins ~

THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023
THE TOMPKINS TIMES • PAGE 3
A Few of John’s Favorite Books
“The Amplified Bible”
“Buffettology: The Previously
Unexplained Techniques That
Have Made Warren Buffett The
Worlds Most Famous Investor”
by Mary Buffet and David Clark
“Kings and Priests”by David R.
High
“The Art of War” by Sun Tzu
“The Father and His Family:
God’s Plan for Our Redemption”
by E.W. Kenyon
“Good to Great: Why Some
Companies Make the Leap …
and Others Don’t” by Jim
Collins
“Rich Dad Poor Dad: What
the Rich Teach Their Kids
About Money That the
Poor and Middle Class Do
Not!” by Robert T. Kiyosaki
“The Fourth Dimension” by
Dr. David Yonggi Cho
“Understanding Your Potential:
Discovering the Hidden You” by
Myles Munroe
“The Power of Now” by
Eckhart Tolle
John especially loved history,
biographies of great
leaders, business books, faith
based books, and don’t tell him we
told you so . . . but he also liked
self-help and health books.
John’s Favorite Movies
The Godfather
Last of the Mohicans
Dances With Wolves
Tombstone
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Coneheads
Darkest Hour
What About Bob
Arthur
Star Trek Movies
Bruce Lee Movies
Action
Drama
Comedy
(OK, he liked them all — but
especially Action and Sci-Fi)
~ John C. Tompkins ~

PAGE 4 • ROCHELLE NEWS-LEADER
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023
Big John Talking
ANYONE who knew John, knew he was a talker. When Trina was a kid she often didn’t know how to
explain her dad’s profession. Owning newspapers didn’t sound like something someone did at work
all day so she explained it like this: “My dad reads newspapers and talks on the phone all day!”
John had quite the vocabulary, often leaving us scurrying to the dictionary to figure out exactly what he meant
with “that” word. Here are a few words we’ve now added to our vocabulary. Maybe you will too (feel free to
look them up at your own leisure):
Fastidious
Feckless
Superfluous
Machinations
Capricious
Capitulate
Histrionic
Sycophant
Sardonic
Schnick (ok, we will define this one as it was a made up word, he
liked those too).
[Shh-nik]: noun
A small bite or taste of someone else’s food. Often asked for
when you didn’t order food that you really wanted, but pretended
you didn’t. i.e. “Can I have a schnick of your cheeseburger?”
JOHN was also famous for one liners and idioms. We often
heard him say, “In our company we have a saying . . . .”
“No decision is a decision”
“Numbers don’t lie”
“Cash is King”
“Tompkins don’t do that”
“I’ve had enough now”
“In our company we have a saying”
“I don’t do guilt”
“Leaders are readers”
“Make me”
“I don’t make decisions with a
gun to my head”
“Don’t tell me what to do”
“Fish is brain food” (he was
way ahead of the times on this!)
“Maintain low tones” (quoted
from The Coneheads movie)
“Ya think?”
“People Don’t Change”
And when he was ready to be done talking he had always had a canny way to end
the conversation. Trina recalls hearing him ending a phone conversation like this:
“Let me, let you, let me go now.”
We wish we didn’t have to let you go now, Dad. You left too soon.
But your larger than life presence will live on in your family and “business family.”
~ John C. Tompkins ~

A bright light comes from your smile
Your eyes bee the sea
Crawl upon my lap and sit with me
From above to below
My god my ego
Thoughts of a man blend with musings of a God
Bleeding them in patterned ways
Then how do we bee-have
Reaching high like a bullet through a cloud
Raining blood Reigning proud
Beautiful mind put to the test
Finally at rest
Angels measuring
Angels watching
Angels always stalking -You-
You know them now
You walk with them now
The God man has a new plan
New creation fully realized
It was always in your eyes