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Avis Thompson, 94

On the morning of Aug. 7, 2019, God sent a chariot pulled by two beautiful Arabian horses to pick up his faithful servant, Avis Thompson.

Identical twins, Avis Alice and Alice Avis were born Oct. 22, 1924, in La Crosse, Wis., to Clarence and Ella Mae (Van der Ploeg) Holter. They lived on a dairy where horses were only for farm work, so the adventuresome twins decided to ride their “pretend horses,” the dairy heifers, until they got caught! Their mom died when they were 10 years old, leaving their dad with six girls, ages 3-16. Eventually they lost the farm, and their beloved animals were sold. After high school, the twins ended up working at the shipyards in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. They were the true “Rosie the Riveters” of World War II. One of the first things they did with their earnings was buy their first horses. It was also there that Avis was exposed to asbestos, and 73 years later, diagnosed with Mesothelioma.

World War II was finally over and Avis rode her horse in the 1946 Memorial Day Parade. There she met another rider — a young GI recently returned from overseas, Sy Thompson. He invited her to ride next to him and six months later, they got married! They moved to River Falls, Wis., where Sy was going to college on the GI Bill. They lived in a one-room, 16-foot trailer on campus and Jeanne was born a year later. Sy graduated in 1949 and they moved to Marionette, Wis. Sy’s allergies forced them to leave Wisconsin, and they landed in Post Falls, Idaho, on a small farm. They lived there for more than 30 years, with Tom joining the family in 1958 and Phil in 1966.

The first horse they purchased in Idaho was a neglected Arabian Stallion, “Shakive.” His owner begged Sy and Avis to take him, so they did, even though an Arabian Stallion was totally not in their plans. He turned out to be a marvelous horse and “Thompson’s Arabians” was born. Avis totally fell in love with that breed. They bought their broodmares from several states and enjoyed showing at Arabian shows as well as at smaller shows locally. One of her favorite classes was the Arabian costume class, but she also rode Western, English and Trail Horse. She also did competitive endurance riding, as well as parades, and as a life-long learner, she took advantage of many riding clinics.

Jeanne vividly recalls her dad gassing up the truck and hooking up the horse trailer so it would be ready to go in the morning. Avis and her cohorts (usually one of the kids) would load two horses in the trailer and take off for Calgary or Kalispell or wherever the next horse show was held. Phil remembers that when he was 10, they took a horse all the way to Iowa to a sale. Tom recalls going on Saddle Club campouts in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest. They stayed in tents and rode the trails during the day. It’s no wonder that Dad said, “There’s a lot of money in horses. I know, I put it there!”

Avis was a 4-H horse leader for many years, and Sy and Avis were active in the Inland Empire Arabian Club, the Kootenai County Saddle Club and later, the North Idaho Draft and Mule Association.

Avis loved taking pictures (she saved hundreds of them) and she loved to write. At the age of 89, she enrolled in a writing class at NIC and she left many fascinating stories of her life experiences. Avis also loved cooking, loading her own dishwasher, tending her gardens, working out at Peak Fitness and studying God’s Word so she could know Him better. She was a Political Conservative, especially fond of Ronald Reagan (he also owned Arabian Horses). She truly loved America, her family and her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Survivors include daughter Jeanne (Ron) Phay of Post Falls; son, Tom (Sylvia) Thompson of Pullman, Wash.; son, Phillip (Taryn) Thompson of Rathdrum, Idaho; grandchildren, Jared (Tami) Phay, Russell Thompson, Andrea (Daniel) Fink, Christina (Jeremy) Burke, J.R. (Becca) Ramos and Faith and Bailey Broadwater. Great-grandchildren include Carson, Makenzie and Colton Phay, Holland Burke and Gabriella Ramos. Also surviving are her sisters, Lornca Whitbeck and Cleo Howe, both of Minneapolis, and Alice Hanson of River Falls, Wis., plus brother-in-law, Jerry (Linda) Thompson of La Crosse, Wis. She leaves numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and friends, plus her faithful little fur-person, Bea. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Sy and sisters, Edna and Phyllis.

The family would like to thank her church family at Christ the King, for their many years of fellowship and good Bible-teaching; the church family at Shepherd of the Hills, for their support while she lived in Rathdrum; the staff at Generations and at Renaissance, plus the wonderful people at Garden Plaza, who cheerfully took great care of her during her final weeks on earth. Her care at the Schneidmiller House was kind and loving, and helped her spend her last days in peace. We are grateful for Melissa, Fran and JoAnn, and also Dr. Gibbons, Lynn and the office staff, who always welcomed her visits with a smile. You are all priceless!

“We’ll see you on the other side, Mom!”

Her memorial service is 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept, 21, 2019, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene.