Lois Thomson

Lois Thomson "Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think..." Mom said those words in almost every telephone conversation and every visit over the last few years of her life. So often we make plans to do things "someday" - not realizing that "someday" might not come. Lois Genevieve Mitton Thomson was born in Port Townsend, Washington on November 12, 1914 to Otto and Anna Mitton. She left this earth on October 22, 2013 after a short illness. In 1939 she joined the Navy and went through four years of training to become a registered nurse. This was an amazingly adventurous step for someone in that era, someone who had hardly left her small hometown, and who worked at the "bag factory" (Crown Zellerbach). Much of the training took place in Washington, DC. It was there she met William Glenn Thomson, whom she married on February 6, 1944. Lois and Bill spent most of their married life in Thurston County. They had five children: Anne Leslie, William Glenn Jr., David Lee (Motoko), John Franklin, and Mary Ruth Jones (Jim). They also had three grandchildren: Rachel Thomson, Trisha Blair (Kyle), and John Thomson; and two great grandchildren: Anna Blair and Jordan Lubben. Trisha and "Grandma" were especially close; Mom nurtured and guided Trisha when she was young, and Trisha rewarded her by becoming a fine young woman who doted on "Grandma." Lois was preceded in death by her husband and by her five siblings, Leslie Roy, John Howard, Anna Ruth, Claude Andrew, and Doris Grace. All of her siblings died before they turned 70, and Lois always wondered why she was still around, "almost 100," as she liked to say. She dearly missed her siblings and spoke of them often. It always delighted her when she had contact with any of her 12 nieces and nephews. Three of them spent several hours with her near the end. It was a very special time for all of us. Lois was an avid walker and she loved to garden. Gardening and driving were things she dearly missed in her later years. She also missed going to church. She was a woman of great faith who delighted in reading her Bible. She was a ferocious prayer warrior. Lois was able to remain independent until shortly before her 90th birthday. She then moved into Olympics West in Tumwater, where she was much loved and very well taken care of. While Mom's short term memory failed her in later years, her long-term memory was often surprising. She could recite the Gettysburg Address... or the words to Barney Google! Her sense of humor and playfulness remained. Near the end, when a speech therapist asked her to count, she did more than that... she recited "one, two, buckle my shoe." And then she sang "The Old Gray Mare." She always watched her diet (she took the nutrition courses in nurse's training seriously), but in her later years she developed quite a sweet tooth. If you dared show up without some candy, she was indignant! Please leave memories of Lois or condolences for her family in the Guestbook below.