Connie Thompson

Memorial services for Connie Thompson, 87, of Ankeny, formerly of Grand Junction, will be held at 5 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home. The Rev. Mark Rabideau, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jefferson, will officiate.

Following the service, the family will visit with friends until 7 p.m. Memorials in her name may be given to the family.

Connie Gail Thompson passed away Sept. 3.

Connie fought an 11-year battle after a cancer diagnosis in 2008, and again in 2013. Her husband, Dean, was her caregiver until May, when she moved to Fountain West Health Care in West Des Moines.

She was born Connie Gail Hanson on Dec. 9, 1931, near Ord, Neb., to Seton and Gwen (Garnick) Hanson. The family struggled during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and eventually moved to Iowa and settled on a farm near Jamaica.

During her school years, Connie enjoyed playing basketball. Connie graduated from Jamaica High School in 1948.  Upon graduation, she moved to Jefferson, where she was employed by Jefferson State Bank and eventually met the love of her life, Dean Thompson, of Grand Junction.

The couple was united in marriage Jan. 23, 1954. They settled on a family farm near Grand Junction and raised three children:  two daughters, Paula and Lynda, and a son, Lance.

Connie enjoyed many activities such as reading, sewing, cooking and especially baking. Everyone enjoyed her pies, cakes, cookies and bars.  

Later, Connie took a job at East Greene Community High School as an administrative assistant that she retired from in 1997. The couple retired to a townhome in Ankeny that Connie enjoyed, as lots of family and friends would drop by.  

After retirement, Connie and Dean enjoyed Connie’s love of basketball and followed the ISU women’s basketball team.  The couple also enjoyed ballroom dancing, as they met at the Starline Ballroom in Carroll in 1953, and continued to dance at Lake Robbins near Perry for many years.

Connie is survived by her husband of 65 years, Dean Thompson, of Heritage Court, West Des Moines; children: Paula (Randy) Carrick, of Harvey, N.D.; Lynda (Gary) Geopfert, of Linden; Lance Thompson, of Des Moines; six grandchildren: Lonnie (Stephen) Carrick, of Chicago; Reid (Amy) Carrick, of Madison, Wis.; Haley Carrick, of Des Moines; Damon Hoyt, of Tucson, Ariz.; Shane Hoyt, of Maui, Hawaii; Ruby Thompson, of Des Moines; Travis (Nicole) Geopfert and family, of Knoxville, Tenn.; Tyler (Amy) Geopfert and family, of Gilbert, Ariz.; four great-grandchildren: Alex, Ella, Destiny and Harper; sisters: Pauline Irwin, of Jefferson, and Colleen (Nicky) Slaymaker, of Lynnville; sisters-in-law: Ardis Kiner, of Grand Junction; Dora Lee (Gayle) Morley, of Caldwell, Idaho; many nieces, nephews and friends.