3 newspaper articles

# 1 - from the Omaha World-Herald, January 21, 2006

THOMSEN - Orpa B., age 95. Preceded in death by husband, Rev. F. W. Bill Thomsen. Survived by sons and daughter-in-law, Paul and Virginia Thomsen, John Thomsen, Brooklyn, NY; granddaughters, Michele Doll, Arlington, NE, Kimberly Thomsen, Cleveland, OH; great-grandchildren, Heather, Aaron and Michael Doll; niece, Carol Skogman; nephews, Mark, James and Donald Thomsen.

SERVICES Fri 11 am, First Lutheran Church, 2146 Wright St., Blair, NE. VISITATION starting 1 hour prior to service. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Dana College and Black Elk-Neihardt Park.

JOHN A. GENTLEMAN MORTUARIES, 72nd Street Chapel, 1010 North 72nd St. 391-1664

# 2 - - from the Pilot-Tribune, January 24, 2006

ORPA B. THOMSEN, 95

Funeral services for Orpa B. Thomsen, 95, are slated for 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 27, 2006. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services.

Orpa (Andersen) Thomsen was born in Ruskin. At the age of 5, she moved with her family to Denver, Colo. She grew up in Denver, attending Bethany Lutheran Church. She attended South High and in her senior year was chosen by her class to be Homecoming Queen. After graduation, she moved to Boulder and attended the University of Colorado. As a young woman, she had the opportunity to fly with Charles Lindbergh when he was in Denver and she danced with her brother’s friend, big band great Tommy Dorsey.

Some years later, she met F. W. “Bill” Thomsen. His parents were tenants of her family and it didn’t take long for his mother to suggest to her son that he and Orpa go ice skating together. After he finished his studies at the Cleveland Art Institute in 1939, they married. He went on to study at the seminary in Blair and his wife helped to make this possible by working as a secretary for Dr. Morris Nielsen in Blair, and as an administrative assistant for Peterson and Haecker, who were building Coast Guard cutters during WWII, along the banks of the Missouri River near the Blair Bridge.

In the early ‘40s, they moved to Moorhead, Iowa. Rev. Thomsen dived into the work of ministering and Mrs. Thomsen worked tirelessly in many ways for the Lutheran Church in Moorhead, as well as working alongside many of the other church members to build a beautiful new church there. They spent 10 years in Moorhead, raising their family and working with the congregation.

As well as the ministry in Moorhead, Rev. Thomsen had been teaching at Dana College in Blair two days a week and, after much soul searching, Rev. and Mrs. Thomsen decided to move to Blair so he could teach art full time as well as teaching religion courses and acting as Dean of Men.

The family moved into Elkhorn Hall on the campus and Mrs. Thomsen took over the demanding and rewarding job of being mother to a large group of young men, as well as to some men who had returned from tough times in Korea. Everyone loved her and she loved helping them in whatever ways she could. Later on, she spent several years working with the elderly at the Good Shepherd Home and with children in the libraries of the Blair school system.

For the next 35 or more years, Mrs. Thomsen was a member of the Faculty Women’s Club; the Monday Afternoon Club; various church groups; and often entertained Dana students, faculty and visiting lecturers, including Nebraska Poet Laureate John Neihardt and philosopher Alan Watts, among others.

Following the best in Danish tradition, no one ever left the Thomsen home without having something good to eat, even if she had to chase them to the door with a tasty treat.

Mrs. Thomsen is survived by her sons and daughter-in-law, Paul and Virginia Thomsen and John Thomsen of Brooklyn, N.Y.; two granddaughters, three great-grandchildren; a niece and three nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, the Rev. F. W. “Bill” Thomsen.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Dana College and the Black Elk-Neihardt Park.

John A. Gentleman, 72nd Street Chapel, in Omaha, is in charge of arrangements.

# 3 - Omaha World-Herald, January 27, 2006

ORPA THOMSEN, PASTOR’S WIDOW, DIES by Qianna Bradley, World-Herald Staff Writer

Orpa Thomsen was a hard-working helpmate to her late husband, the late Rev. F. W. “Bill” Thomsen, who was a former chairman of the art department at Dana College.

While her husband was a pastor in Moorhead, Iowa, she hosted missionaries and speakers; got her sons involved by having them help fold church bulletins; and went to hospitals and nursing homes to see shut-ins.

“She was helpful in all functions of running the church,” said her son Paul Thomsen of Omaha.

Orpa Thomsen died in Blair on Jan. 19 of complications from pneumonia. She was 95.

A service was held this morning at the First Lutheran Church in Blair.

Thomsen, a native of Ruskin, Neb., moved with her family to Denver when she was 5. She studied pre-medicine at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

She married the Rev. Thomsen in 1939. After spending 10 years in Moorhead, the family moved in the mid-1950s to Blair, where her husband was already teaching art and religion courses at Dana.

Thomsen quickly became involved in the Blair community by being a house mother to young men attending Dana; working with the elderly at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home and children in the libraries of the Blair school system.

Other survivors include her son John Thomsen of Brooklyn, N.Y., two granddaughters and three great-grandchildren.

#4 Funeral Leaflet

In Loving Memory of Orpa B. Thompson

Born July 30, 1910 ~ Died January 19, 2006

Visitation with the Family Friday, January 27, 2006 10:00-11:00 A.M. First Lutheran Church, Blair, Nebraska

Funeral Service 11:00 AM Friday, January 27, 2006 First Lutheran Church, Blair, Nebraska. Officiatiant: Rev. Heather Grell. Reflections: Rev. Mark Thomsen. Organist: Clare Cowing. Soloist: Duane Heffelfinger

Pallbearers: Dr. K.C. Bagby, Warren Hunsche, Richard Jorgensen, Gary Doll, Richard Hunt, Laurids Pedersen

~~~ Obituaries and funeral leaflet courtesy of Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings and leaflets on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska~~~

MEMORIAL ID 50715380