Della Thompson

September 2, 1926 - December 12, 2016

Della Thornton Thompson, 90, passed away Monday, December 12, 2016 at South Wind Home in Pratt. She was born September 2, 1926 at Running Water, South Dakota, the daughter of James Edward and Audrew Smith Thornton. When she was one year old the family moved to a farm near Isabel, Kansas where she went through 12 years of school, graduating in 1944 from IHS. She attended Emporia State Teacher’s College and during World War II taught at a country school near Zenda, Kansas for 2 terms. In 1950 she graduated from Phillips University, Enid, Oklahoma with degrees in music and education; then taught music at Mullinville, KS until 1954. Other schools where she taught music were at Langdon, Turon, Sylvia and Cunningham. She also taught 5th grade at Stafford for 12 years. In later years, Della served as the faculty secretary at Friends Bible College in Haviland, KS and was instructor in the Learning Lab at Pratt Community College for 3 years. She spent a total of 30 years in education. After retirement, she gave piano lessons in her Pratt home for 8 years. She was also a church pianist and organist for many years. On April 21, 1990 she married Elmer Dale Thompson at Pratt where she and Dale made their home, participated in many craft shows and rock swaps in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, enjoyed traveling and spending winters in South Texas. Dale passed away in 1999. She is survived by a son, Vernon Almond of Wichita; daughters, Rev. Rhonda Almond of Wichita and Marcia Newell of Clay Center; one granddaughter; 2 great grandsons; and daughter in-law, Diane Thompson of Chicago, Illinois. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and brother, Clair Thornton. Della was a member of First Christian Church, Pratt, the Gem and Mineral Society of Hutchinson, Pratt Historical Museum, National Retired Teachers Association and Piano Teacher’s National Association. Visitation will be Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Larrison Mortuary. Funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at Larrison Mortuary, 300 Country Club Road, Pratt, KS with John Hamm presiding. Burial will follow at Isabel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Christian Church, Kidney Foundation or Donor’s Choice in care of Larrison Mortuary.