Lyle Allen THOMPSON

THOMPSON, MONTGOMERY, OSKVIG, HILL, KENINGER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 5/12/2015 at 17:29:29

November 3, 1922 --- May 6, 2015

Lyle Allen Thompson, age 92, died Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at Heritage Care Center in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at Surl’s Funeral Home, 505 Stevens St., Iowa Falls, Iowa with a Celebration of Life memorial service to follow at 2:00 p.m. Following the service, the family will be leaving for a private graveside burial in Alden Cemetery, Alden, Iowa.

A life-long resident of the area, Lyle was born November 3, 1922 in Ellsworth, Iowa, to Roy and Anna Thompson. A graduate of Ellsworth High School, he met the love of his life, Darlene Montgomery of Dows, Iowa, and married her on December 24, 1944.

Lyle was a hard-working provider for his family. Early on, he farmed for Bud and Lois Vierkandt in Buckeye, Iowa, followed by employment at Bekemeir Hardware in Eldora, Iowa and Fear Hardware and Implement in Williams, Iowa. He went to work for Hamilton County Highway Department as a Heavy Equipment Operator and retired 27 years later on October 31, 1985. Lyle fulfilled his life-long passion of farming by helping family and friends during peak farming seasons all of his life. Upon finishing his job for the highway department, he would go straight to the field and farmed through the night. He was happiest when he was on a tractor.

Post-retirement, Lyle worked half of the year at Boondocks USA Truck Stop while his wife, Darlene, served as evening cashier there, too, sharing the same schedule. The two of them didn’t let any grass grow under their feet! And speaking of grass growing, that was another passion of Lyle’s … he kept a very tidy lawn and was proud of it. Lyle and Darlene had many extra-curricular activities. Among their favorites was their love of RV’ing. They were members of the Holiday Ramblers RV Club and attended many National, Regional and State rallies. They also belonged to Coast to Coast Camping and Cutty’s Camping of Des Moines. At retirement, they wintered at Craig’s RV Park in Florida six months out of the year. Craig’s was located near their eldest son (Lyle Jr.) and family. It was there that Lyle and Darlene cultivated a whole new circle of friends, becoming involved in many club activities, trips, games, music festivals and more! Some of Lyle’s favorite activities were playing pool, cards, shuffleboard, cribbage, dominoes and golf.

Lyle is survived by his wife, Darlene, of 70 years; a son, Randy (Jean) Thompson of Iowa Falls and a daughter, Tammy (Dean) Oskvig of Stilwell, KS. He leaves 4 grandchildren: Tracy (Scot) Hill, Prairie Village, KS; Jaime (Doug) Keninger, Iowa Falls, IA; Jayson Thompson, Waterloo, IA and Lyle Thompson III, Bartow, FL. His 5 great-grandchildren, Owen, Eva, Emmett and Nora Hill, Prairie Village, KS and Logan Thompson, Bartow, FL will remember Papa Lyle as a vibrant and fun-loving guy. Also left to cherish his memory are in-laws Dallas and Louise Montgomery of Iowa Falls, IA and Arlene Montgomery of Steamboat Rock, IA, as well as many loving nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother Donald Thompson of Ellsworth, IA and a son, Lyle Thompson, Jr. of Arcadia, FL. The family would like to thank the professionals at Hospice of North Iowa for their many, many hours of loving care and support. To honor Lyle, we suggest a donation to them in his name … they helped in ways we never knew possible.

Surls Funeral Home - Iowa Falls, Iowa
http://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3096366&fh_id=14592