Ruth Mildred (Jessen) Thompson Obituary (1921

Ruth Mildred (Jessen) Thompson passed away on February 25, 2020 at the age of 98. Ruth was born July 20, 1921 to Joe and Edith (Wein) Jessen on the family farm near Orum, NE. She was united in marriage to Howard D. Thompson, Sr. on June 22, 1947 Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 28th at First Lutheran Church Blair, NE. at 2:00 p.m. Visitation will be at First Lutheran Church from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 27th. Ruth’s working career began after high school in Omaha, Nebraska for Art Weaver in advertising. After her marriage in 1947, she and Howard moved to the Thompson homestead south of Blair, Nebraska. Along with raising her four children, Ruth also managed to raise chickens and maintain a large garden from which she canned vegetables and made jams and jellies. In 1963, Ruth and Howard founded the Howard D. Thompson Real Estate and Insurance Agency. They also prepared tax returns for an H&R Block franchise for many years. Ruth had both her real estate and insurance licenses, and in her early years at the agency she was the secretary for the Blair Chamber of Commerce. She continued to work at the agency following Howard’s death in 1990. She was also the bookkeeper for the Blair Rural Fire District from 1959 to the present. Her presence at the agency was invaluable up until the day before her passing. Ruth and Howard had Husker football season tickets, as well as College World Series tickets, since 1962. Ruth continued to attend Husker football games into her 80’s. They also enjoyed many summers at their lake home on Blanche Lake in Minnesota. Ruth made many lifelong friends during her time there playing cards and having cocktail hours. In her later years Ruth kept herself up to date. She was stylish and classy continuing to maintain her hairstyle, manicures and fashion. She also looked forward to her many evenings out to dinner with her close friends and family. Ruth is survived by her four children: Susan (Doug) Lash, Janis Vinton Sasse, H. Dan (Kristie) Thompson and Greg (Diane) Thompson; 10 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Howard D. Thompson, Sr., brother John Jessen, sisters Dorothy Hansen and Gloria Kuhr, and sons-in-law Bob Vinton and Carl Sasse. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be sent to First Lutheran Church in Blair, Nebraska.