Obituary of Lori Ann Thompson

Lori Ann Thompson (62) passed away on Sunday, March 16 from complications of metastatic breast cancer.

Lori was born November 5, 1962 in Pella, Iowa, to Leonard and Esther Vande Lune. She took great pride in her farm girl and Dutch roots. Her special aunts – Nina, Clara, Ada, and Lottie – were great influences throughout her life. Lori grew up attending Pella Christian schools before pursuing advanced degrees at University of Northern Iowa and North Dakota State University, achieving a Ph.D. in 2010 at age 48. She also attained credentials as a six-sigma black belt in performance improvement.

Her immediate family was central to Lori’s life. From their first meeting in 1986 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (Mason City, IA), Tom and Lori became the most important person in each others’ lives. Sons Joseph and Benjamin owned her heart, a love later extended to their spouses Caitlyn and Mackenzie, and grandsons Harrison, Callahan and Sullivan. Lori also greatly loved her sisters Cindy and Sandy, and she adopted the Thompson extended family equally as her own.

Lori was passionate about making the most of each day. She loved hiking, skiing, working out, travel, live performances, learning, and new adventures. Lori loved to connect with others and make new friends. She was a person of great faith, a trait she invested in daily, shared with others, and which carried her through difficult times. Her smile and infectious laugh lit up every room. She put others’ needs in front of her own, always. Even while battling cancer, Lori took time to send daily reflections to dozens of individuals to inspire and brighten their days.

Lori cared deeply about her work. Several years of her early career involved work with seniors, child and family services, community asset development, fund development, and process improvement. A favorite role over the past decade was as a highly regarded instructor for Central Washington University, achieving a personal goal of Senior Lecturer this past year. She also provided consulting support to numerous non-profit organizations, often in collaboration with dear friend Shelby Miller with whom she worked since 1998.

Lori’s life was one of continuous personal growth, and she served as an inspiration to all who knew her. Through her friendships and her example, she made a positive difference in our world.

Lori was preceded in death by her parents, Tom’s parents, and brother-in-law David. She is survived by husband Tom; sons Joseph (Caitlyn) and Benjamin (Mackenzie); grandsons Harrison, Callahan, and Sullivan; siblings Cindy (Gary) and Sandy (Fred); brother-in-law John (Cate); sister-in-law Nida; nieces and nephews Cally (Justin), Lacy (Tony), Chance, Stacy (Mark), Angela (Daniel), Alex (Katie), Andrea (Jeremy), Tessa (Eric), Robert (Courtney), and David.

In lieu of flowers, Lori’s family requests consideration of memorial gifts in her name to The Hope Lodge (237 East Ave, Burlington, VT 05401) and/or The Retreat (1221 Wayzata Blvd, Wayzata, MN 55391), two non-profit organizations valued by her family.

A celebration of Lori’s beautiful life will be held Saturday, April 5, at St. John’s University Abbey Church (Collegeville, MN) with visitation at 1 pm and church services at 2 pm. An inurnment and fellowship time with refreshments will follow.

Considering a memorial gift in Lori’s honor? Please cut and paste the link(s) of your choice into your browser to access the organization’s giving website. Thank you.

Hope Lodge link: https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.page&id=1214

The Retreat link: https://info.theretreat.org/donate-giving-form