A Time of Grateful
Remembering: The life of Margaret Ray Thompson
Based
on comments by the Rev. Chuck Hindman during Margaret’s memorial service held June
24, 2023, at First Congregational Church in Walla Walla, Wash.
Margaret
Ray Thompson was born in Lacona, Iowa, t0 Ray and Luella Smith on March 24,
1929. She was the youngest of three sisters. Helen was 19 years older and Grace
five years older, so she got special attention as the “baby of the family.”
She
grew up in nearby Chariton, Iowa, where Margaret did well in school, singing in
the choir, playing trumpet in the band, joining the drama club, participating
in National Honor Society, getting elected as student council vice president,
and being selected as 1946 Chariton High School Homecoming Queen. She was
bright, talented, outgoing, and well-liked and had many friends.
Margaret's
father was a successful salesman for Hormel Meats. He traveled all around Iowa.
He was a natural-born salesperson, so he did very well, making his family
better off than so many during the Great Depression. That was until rheumatoid
arthritis got so bad that he could no longer travel. Margaret was in eighth
grade. He was able to get a job doing bookkeeping for the city, but it was not
nearly as lucrative as before.
Social
Security had come into being by then, but it did not include disability
benefits, so times were lean. They took in boarders in their home in order to
make ends meet. In spite of that, if hoboes knocked at their door by the
railroad tracks asking for some work to earn lunch, Margaret’s mother, Luella,
always obliged and treated them like guests.
When
Margaret graduated from high school in 1947, she moved to Vancouver,
Washington, to live with her oldest sister, Helen. Margaret's empty bedroom
meant her folks could take in another boarder. She also moved to attend Clark
(junior) College in Vancouver. So, Margaret set out on a new chapter in her
life. During her freshman year at Clark, she met a guy named Roy Thompson.
Roy
graduated in 1944 from Vancouver High School (now Fort Vancouver High School)
when he was 17-years-old because he was
a good student and skipped seventh grade.
After
high school he played football University of Washington as starting center and
linebacker for the Huskies.
As
one of many patriotic young men of his time, Roy served in the military during
World War II. When he turned 18 he dropped out of the university and enlisted
in the Army to serve as a paratrooper. He did not see action because the war
ended. So, he ended up playing football to entertain the troops. Then, he
returned to Clark as a student. After Clark he transferred to the University of
Portland where he earned his bachelor’s degree and played football.
Roy's
story was even tougher than Margaret 's since he had lost his mother when he
was 15-years-old. Soon after his father left Roy and Roy’s brother, two years
older, at home in Vancouver on their own while he worked elsewhere.
Thankfully,
the Thompson brothers got help from other family members in town so Roy could
finish high school. In addition, Roy worked in a local papermill.
During
his Army service overseas, Roy sent money home to his father assuming it would
be saved for him. But, Roy never saw any of it. He’d hope to have savings when
he and Margaret married. Instead, they were broke.
Margaret
and Roy married June 1, 1948. Helen lent them $25 so they could go on a
one-night honeymoon to Seaside, Oregon, and they went from there.
Football,
frugality, and the GI Bill got them through Roy's college years so he could
begin a career in teaching and coaching football. They started out in a 740
square foot house that was anything but fancy, but it was always clean and
cared for.
You
might think at times that a football coach's wife was a celebrity in the towns
in which they served, but that was not the whole story.
In
his first assignment in Astoria, they hung a dummy in effigy with his name on
it because they lost a lot of games early on while he was turning the program
around.
https://taxioffduty.blogspot.com/2021/09/astoria-grid-coach-roy-thompson-takes.html
In
Roseburg, he had to fire three local boys who were assistants and started out 0
and 9 for the first season. They turned it around, but only after some really
tough years of being targets of ridicule and unhappiness.
The
same cycle happened when they moved to Walla Walla and he coached for Whitman
College until they cut funding so much that it was time to leave.
Through
thick and thin, Margaret’s charm, relation-building skills, and giving attitude
remained consistent. Her strawberry-rhubarb pie and hospitality didn’t hurt
either. And, of course, she was there for Roy when no one else was.
In
1952 Margaret and Roy were blessed with son Mark. Then Kristin (Kris) became
part of the family 12 years later, in 1964. Margaret was, as you might surmise,
a loving and capable mom.
After
years of not being able to have a second child, you can imagine heir joy when
they were able to go to Portland and come back with Kris. It was like Margaret
was twice a new mom. I’m pretty sure Mark wasn’t nearly as cuddly as Kris back
then.
Having
grown up with a father who became disabled in middle age, tragedy struck again
when Roy was only 50 years old. Colon cancer left him really limited and
needing Margaret's regular care. Then, prostate cancer went out of control
before he died at age 66.
She
took to heart all the help she received and became a dedicated volunteer in
many community groups! She helped to create the first Walla Walla Meals on
Wheels program, and worked weekly for more than 40 years supporting those who
needed meals delivered to them enabling them to stay in their homes for as long
as possible,
She
was a docent at Walla Walla’s Carnegie Art Center until it closed, making many
new and lasting friendships. She was active in PEO, the garden
club, and several bridge groups.
Margaret
often golfed with a friend and she enjoyed traveling with friends.
She
loved being a grandmother and loved all of her grandchildren equally and
attended most of their sporting, and music events! Later, she was a proud
great-grandmother of five.
Dolores
Peery, who was her neighbor across the street then across the hall at Wheatland
Village in Walla Walla for 30 years, describes Margaret as always kind and
positive. She was like that with everyone.
You
might say that Margaret had distinct chapters in her life.
=There
were the growing up years that got more challenging when her father became
disabled.
=Then
there were the married years of being the coach’s wife with all the unwritten
expectations and needs before Roy became ill. As caregiver for him, she was
assisted by hospice, friends, Mark and Kris.
=Then
the years she worked as a preschool teacher to help fund Kris' education until
she retired and remained a cherished friend to so many.
=Finally, there were the years, starting in 1993 when
Roy died. She was almost 64-years old then. This final chapter of 30 years was filled with recreating herself as a
valued family and community member, through volunteering, and wonderful
friendships. Her kindness and smile ministered to many, especially where she
lived in her last two years, on the second floor of Odd Fellows Home in Walla
Walla. She passed away at age 94 on May 28, 2023, with her family at her side.
In
conclusion, the Biblical story of Ezekiel and the dry bones fits Margaret.
Ezekiel
lived in a time when his people had been taken into exile as slaves to the
Babylonians. There were a defeated and seemingly powerless people, but Ezekiel
saw how God could bring life to the dry bones of his people.
It
was like that for Margaret and so many others of her generation who had a gift for
bringing life to dry bones, bringing resiliency to her own life and the lives
of others. Through good times and bad, she brought life and continued to love.
#
..................
Mountain View Cemetery, Walla Walla, Wash.
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