Alice Thompson
Alice E. Thompson of Long Prairie, MN passed away peacefully in her sleep March 17, 2021 at age 89 at the Good Samaritan Society in Waukon. The Celebration of Life service will be held Friday, April 9 at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Waukon with Rev. Duane P. Smith presiding with visitation at the same location from 9 a.m. until the time of services. The service will be live-streamed at First Baptist Church of Waukon’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
A catered meal will be served following the service. In consideration of concerns regarding COVID-19, social distancing and wearing of masks is encouraged but not required. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.
A second visitation will be held at the Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Long Prairie, MN Saturday, April 10 from 2-4 p.m. with the interment immediately following at Evergreen Cemetery in Long Prairie. In lieu of flowers, a Memorial Fund has been set up for the Alice Thompson Grade School at https://www.bgfmission.com/alice.
Alice Elizabeth (Engelhardt) Thompson was born in Brighton, IL June 16, 1931. Alice grew up in Maryland Heights, MO and was raised by her beloved grandmother and father; Alice came to know the Lord as her personal Savior through the influence of her paternal grandmother.
At age 18, Alice attended Midwest Bible & Missionary Institute in St. Louis, MO and prayerfully decided to become a missionary with Brazil Gospel Fellowship Mission to Brazil, South America after meeting her then-future husband, Rev. Robert “Bob” R. Thompson.
Alice flew down to Brazil to join her future husband and was married in Messejana, Ceará December 12, 1953, and said her vows in the beautiful Portuguese language - one she did not yet know or speak until later. Bob and Alice were pioneers of the city of Umuarama, Paraná and theirs was the first residential house in the city. Alice often reminisced about the “pioneer days” of drawing water from a well, cooking food over an open fire, hearing jaguars in the jungle, building their first house out of lumber, and embracing the challenges of helping found a city.
They began teaching Sunday School classes in their home June 5, 1955 and later formed the first church of Umuarama – Congregational Bible Church – and participated in the founding of the city June 26, 1955. They were instrumental in starting 12 churches in southern Brazil.
Bob and Alice also were co-founders of the Brazil Inland Mission, Inc. in May 1955. Alice was the editor and distributer of BIM’s Prayer Calendars and “Pioneering” publications for many years.
Alice was a gifted teacher of the Bible and taught all ages of children through Seminary students during her missionary professor career of 42 years; she co-founded the Thompson Theological Bible Seminary in 1968 and taught Greek I-IV along with other subjects. To date, there have been more than 300 graduates of the Seminary.
She was the co-founder of the first municipal Evangelical Grade School of Umuarama in 1964, and drew the architectural plans for the more recent school building. Recently, an organization named The Robert (Alice) Thompson Institute of Umuarama was launched with the intent of getting children off the streets, offering counseling services, receiving an education, learning the Bible, acquiring a trade, and getting a job.
Alice also taught all five of her children at home while teaching full-time and volunteering at churches and in the community. She inspired her children musically and was their first piano and vocal teacher. She played the accordion and pump organ very well. Alice worked side-by-side with her husband their entire married lives. Both were completely dedicated to the ministry and lived out their faith in front of the children.
The couple retired from the mission field in 1996 in Minnesota and continued to minister as Interim Pastor and wife at the Round Prairie Community Church and surrounding churches. Bob was ushered into the presence of the Lord June 23, 2009. A year later, Alice prayerfully decided to move to Waukon to be near her youngest daughter, Cristina (Thompson) Smith, and First Baptist Church family, where she made her residence for the past 11 years.
She was involved as a member, AWANA, mission committee, volunteered at Good Samaritan Society, and the local food shelf. In June of 2017, Alice was able to return to Brazil in a “trip of a lifetime” to be present at the Inauguration of the Alice Thompson Christian Grade School in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia where her son, David Michel Thompson, continues to serve as a second-generation missionary.
She was known for being a woman of prayer and praying for her family every morning during her devotions. Her worn Bible is marked from cover to cover with red ink for those for whom she prayed and Scripture verses that held meaning to her. She was one to listen, counsel and pray with those in need. Her devotion to Jesus Christ, prayer life, and the manner in which she made everyone she met feel special to her will remain. There is no doubt she heard her Savior’s words upon entering the pearly gates, “…well done, thou good and faithful servant…enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matthew 25:23.
Alice was preceded in death by her husband, Robert; her daughter, Beth (Paul) Ostoich; and her sister, Nancy Eckert. She is survived by four of her children: David (Deborah) Thompson of Vitória da Conquista, Brazil, Debra (Kenneth) Howard of Long Prairie, MN, Anita (John) Weinzierl of Belton, MO and Cristina (Duane) Smith of Waukon; 15 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; her sisters: Carol (Terry) Sullivan, Marleen Eckert and Jean (Alvin) Linhart.
Casketbearers are her grandsons: Jedediah and Josiah Ostoich, D. Andrew and Jonathan Thompson, Joshua Nedostup, Jason, Titus, Alexander and Marcellus Weinzierl, and Nathaniel, Michael and Jacob Smith.
