Bessie Thompson Passes Away
Northwest's Assistant Registrar and "dorm mom" of the late 60s and early 70s, Bessie Ruth Tuthill Thompson, 94, of Yelm, Washington, died on Saturday, June 3, 2006, at Easthaven Villa Care Center. She was born in Los Angeles, California, where she graduated from high school and attended Angeles Bible College. She married William Arthur Thompson in 1933. They lived in Lyle, WA, Pomeroy, WA, Hermiston, OR, and Prineville, OR. After this Bessie lived in Kirkland, WA, Brussels Belgium, Olympia, WA and was in Yelm, WA for the last six years. Bessie had a wide range of careers in her lifetime. She was a Homemaker and also worked in the potato fields around Prineville. She then worked at the hospital in Prineville as a Nurses Aid for several years. In 1952 Bessie studied to become a Practical Nurse. In taking her State Board Exam, Bessie received the highest recorded score and received her Licensed Practical Nurse degree. Bessie loved her nursing career and passed that love on to her daughter. After her husband Art's death in 1965, Bessie went back to school to prepare for a new career. Upon graduation, Bessie traveled to Kirkland, WA for an interview and was hired as Assistant Registrar of Northwest College in Kirkland where she served for eleven years (from mid 60's to late 70's). Bessie loved her work at Northwest College (now Northwest University) and also attended as many classes as she could in the evenings. Around 1978 Bessie learned French, retired from the college and traveled to Brussels Belgium where she served as Librarian / Missionary at the International Correspondence Institute for six years. Bessie had opportunity to travel throughout Europe during that time, and shared many accounts of her experiences. She then retired around the age of 73 and moved back "home" to Washington State, USA. She lived in Yelm with her daughter and son-in-law and family for several months until she found an apartment in Olympia. She then lived in Olympia until around 2000 when she returned to live with her daughter, son-in-law and family. They cared for her until the special care needs became too physically demanding to manage in a home environment and she transitioned to a Care Center in Yelm where she lived for almost 2 years until her death. Bessie was a founding member of the North Thurston Life Center (church) in Olympia, WA. She loved her church and her church family. Bessie always had a close connection to church and was a faithful supporter of the local church and foreign missions efforts. Bessie's parents and maternal grandparents, and many of her aunts and uncles (Tuthill and Aylor families) were workers and associates in the early pentecostal revivals in Texas, and Azusa Street Mission in California. Bessie was preceded in death by her husband, Art, and by three brothers: Frank, Henry and Philip. Bessie is survived by six siblings: Gladys, Ida May, Roberta, Elizabeth, Marian and Richard. She is also survived by her four children: Art "Virgil" Thompson (and wife Wendy), of Hillsboro, Oregon, Sid "Russel" Thompson (and wife Pauline), of Santa Barbara, California, Dave "Terry" Thompson (and wife Mercy), of Fairbanks, Alaska, and Sue Charles (and husband Ben), of Olympia, Washington; six grandchildren; five great- grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, and other friends and loved ones. Reprinted with permission from bessie.wordpress.com. |
