THOMPSON, Robert

THOMPSON, BAIRD, MCKEOWN

Posted By: Nancy (email)
Date: 10/20/2003 at 12:55:25

October 9, 2003 The Morning Sun News-Herald
Robert “Ken” Thompson

Robert Kenneth “Ken” Thompson, 86, formerly of Mediapolis, died Tuesday, September 30, 2003 at Rosebush Gardens in Burlington. The son of Robert Knox and Blanche Baird Thompson, he was born September 22, 1917, on a farm near Morning Sun. On January 1, 1941, he married Evelyn Grace McKeown at the home of her parents near Northfield, Iowa.

He was a graduate of the Morning Sun High School. He and his wife farmed for many years and owned a dairy farm near Northfield. After retirement and selling the farm, he and his wife traveled and did volunteer work in group homes for youth in Iowa and Texas, and tutored youth in Mediapolis and in Arizona while wintering there. During retirement, he became a licensed minister and lived with missionaries in Kingston, Jamaica and in Haiti to share his agricultural skills, teaching the people there how to garden and become more self-sufficient.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Mediapolis and after moving to Burlington attended Heritage Baptist Church in Burlington.

He was a member of the Lions Club, Boy Scouts of America, Gideons International, Full Gospel Businessmen’s Group, Hospice, Charismatic Prayer Group and was always concerned about serving the needs of others.

He enjoyed square dancing, woodworking and gardening, and most of all loved the company of others.

He is survived by his wife of Rosebush Gardens in Burlington; two sons, Alan and Sharon Thompson of Wynne, Arkansas and Lee and Nancy Thompson of Burlington; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.

Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Friday, October 3, at the Hagele andHonts Funeral Home in Mediapolis, with Pastor Brad Cranston officiating. Interment followed at the Kossuth Cemetery.

Visitation was Thursday at the funeral home where the family met with friends in the evening.

A memorial was established for Gideons International.