Lowell Estel THOMSON

THOMSON, KNIGHT, JOHNSON, MITCHELL, HOOVER, WORDEN, MEYER, WATKINS, LANE, SLIWA, HARRER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 9/21/2008 at 12:17:01

MASON CITY - Lowell Estel Thomson, 74, of 65 West View Drive, Mason City, Iowa died Saturday (Jan. 14, 2006) at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, Mason City, Iowa. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Trinity Lutheran Church, Mason City, with the Rev. Jim Magelssen officiating. Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 Third St. N.E., Mason City, and then one hour before the service on Thursday at the church. The family suggests memorials to the Lowell E. Thomson Memorial Fund.

Lowell was born on March 2, 1931, on his grandfather Lester Knight's farm near Viola, Iowa, the son of Estel and Leota Mae (Knight) Thomson. He attended school in several towns where his father taught, graduating from Kanawha High School in 1948, where he played baseball as a short-stop. His team won the state fall baseball title. He attended Britt Junior College and transferred to Iowa State Teachers College where he played two years of varsity baseball as an outfielder. He obtained a master's degree in secondary education in 1961, and a master's degree in physical education in 1967 at Greeley, Colo. He was one of the first recipients of the Kennedy Family Special Olympics Fellowship Grant. He taught and coached for many years at Ledyard, Plymouth, and Mason City public schools, retiring in 1986. His overall baseball record was 354-201. He won six district titles, three sub-states and was state runner-up once. Lowell served as a high school umpire/referee from 1958-1972. Later, he coached and umpired Little League baseball. He coached in the Second All-Star Series and was named Coach of the Year and District Coach of the Year in 1980. Following in the footsteps of his father, Estel, and uncle, George, he was inducted into the Iowa Coaches Hall of Fame for baseball on Feb. 6, 1999.

Lowell married Maryen (Mernie) Johnson on Dec. 22, 1951, in Waterloo, Iowa. She preceded him in death on April 9, 1974. He married Meryleen Mitchell on Sept. 15, 2000, at the International Peace Gardens. He enjoyed playing golf, fishing in Canada, attending athletic events, having coffee with his fishing buddies at Country Kitchen and spending his winters in Weslaco, Texas.

Lowell is survived by his wife Meryleen, Virden, Manitoba, Canada; mother, Leota Mae Thomson, Lake Mills; four children: Leslie (Bill) Hoover, Loudon, Tenn., Robert (Sandy) Thomson, Cumming Ga., LuAnn (Mark) Worden, North Liberty, Iowa, and William (Karen) Thomson, Mason City; five grandchildren: Kris (Mindy) Meyer, Knoxville, Tenn., Sarah (Daniel) Watkins, Knoxville, Tenn., Jeb Hoover, Loudon, Tenn., Bryce (Stephanie) Thomson, Spring, Texas, and Ryan Thomson, Cumming, Ga.; three step-children: Bob (Linda) Lane, Max (Lorna) Lane and Valerie (Gerry) Sliwa of Canada; five step-grandchildren: Kim and Monica Hoover, and Adam, Ryan, and Ben Harrer; three brothers: David (Rita) Thomson, Overland Park, Kan., Donald (Kay) Thomson, Stevensville, Md., and Lyle (Orloue) Thomson, Lake Mills. He is also survived by several special nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his father and first wife, Mernie.

Mason City Globe Gazette
January 17, 2006