Gloria Thompson - 7/14/26

We gather today to say goodbye to Gloria Thompson. While we grieve at losing her, we are also grateful today that her suffering has ended. Our hope today is to find comfort and peace, even in the midst of our grief. So, to that end, will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, we come today with a mix of emotions. On the one hand, we are grateful that Gloria’s suffering is over. We know she was ready. But on the other hand, we are saddened, realizing that we will not see her again in this life. Lord, today we ask for your comfort and peace. Be with us as we remember, celebrate, and grieve. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen

Gloria Ann (Brown) Thompson was born September 24, 1947 in Fort Madison, Iowa the daughter of Oscar and Mabel (McCulloch) Brown. She was raised and educated in Abingdon, Illinois. Following high school, she remained in the Abingdon and Galesburg area, until a friend introduced her to her future husband, Winston Thompson. They were married October 28, 1978 in Abingdon. Following their marriage, she moved to LaHarpe. Winston preceded her in death on May 19, 2014.

Mrs. Thompson was employed as a cook at the former Tastee Freeze restaurant in LaHarpe. After their closing, she was employed at Tink’s Restaurant in Blandinsville, Illinois. She enjoyed watching TV especially her favorite shows: Murder She Wrote, Family Feud, the Game Show Network and WWE. More than anything, Gloria enjoyed being involved in her grandsons’ lives.

She passed away at 5:01 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, 2026 at the age of 78.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents.

Survivors include one daughter: Carrie Cameron of LaHarpe; two step-children: Linda Sue (Jerry) Clark of Carthage and Wendell (Kim) Thompson of Muscatine, Iowa; two grandsons: Solon and Cruz Cameron; two brothers: Jeff (Mitzie) Brown of Knoxville, Illinois and Bruce (Brenda) Brown of Walker, Louisiana and her lifelong best friend: Linda Fox of Galesburg.

I can’t say that I knew Gloria Thompson especially well. Our paths crossed every so often, and I always enjoyed the time I spent with her. Sitting with her family the other day, it was fun to get a chance to see her through their eyes.

Many people knew Gloria from her time working in local kitchens. She worked for many years at the Tastee Freeze in La Harpe. I’m told that she and Diana first started working together when Diana was just 18 years old (I’ll leave you to figure out how many years ago that was…) After the Tastee Freeze closed and Diana owned Tink’s, Gloria came to work there. She spent many years cooking at Tink’s as well.

When she felt like she could no longer keep working, she decided it was finally time to retire. I know she and her family were so grateful that even in retirement, Diana continued to take good care of Gloria, who had become much more than just a co-worker, but a friend, and even like family.

Gloria had an ornery streak to her. She was not shy about telling you what she thought, and apparently sometimes she just liked to mess with people. I’m told that when she got bored while working at the Tastee Freeze, she would start making bird noises. She would do it nonchalantly, and then everyone in the restaurant would start looking around trying to find the bird that had somehow made it into the building. Little did they know, it was just Gloria entertaining herself.

She and Winston were both a little rough around the edges. Both of them had already been married twice when they got married to each other. But, the third time proved to be the charm, as she and Winston were married over 35 years, until his death in 2014.

Gloria loved to cook and was an excellent cook. She usually had Sundays off from the restaurant, so she always had plans to make a big meal for the family for Sunday dinner. She would often run her menu by her co-workers, who always approved. Her co-workers knew that while she could cook most anything, she loved to bake too. And she loved baking cakes. They often remarked that they couldn’t imagine anyone having more cake than the Thompson family, because Gloria always seemed to feel like baking a cake!

When the boys came to live with their grandma, they came to really enjoy her baking too. She baked all sorts of things, but they both agreed that their favorite was her peanut butter cookies. To quote them, “They were lowkey fire!”

She loved her grandsons and was so proud of them both. As she became less able to do things for herself toward the end, she was grateful for them because they took good care of her. Every night she would give the boys a kiss and tell them she loved them. Even if they were somewhere else for the night, she’d call them to say goodnight and that she loved them.

When Carrie and the boys moved in with her, she wanted to ensure they each got their own room, so Gloria gave up her room. She said she could sleep in her chair and seemed quite happy to do so. She really wanted to give her family the best she could.

When the dog came on the scene, Gloria was initially resistant. But over time she and Hoss became buddies. Hoss had trained her well. He would come sit by her and she would throw him treats. Carrie said that she found herself having to refill the treat jar every other day! Hoss misses Gloria as well.

She enjoyed lots of things around the house. She loved playing cards and board games. She also loved watching her shows. She liked game shows (especially Match Game), but also loved Murder, She Wrote. While she could be flexible on sharing the TV most of the time, there was one exception: Wrestling. When WWE was on, it didn’t matter what else was happening, Gloria would insist that they switch to watch that instead. Thankfully, her love of wrestling extended to the rest of the family, so there usually wasn’t too much of a fight—besides they all knew it was a fight they’d lose anyway.

Gloria was always harping on the kids (Carrie and the boys) about not being on their phones too much or too late at night. Apparently, she didn’t feel like the same rules applied to her. She was constantly on the phone talking to someone. Most of the time, she was on the phone with her lifelong friend, Linda. They had been friends since 2ndgrade and continued to talk almost every day. And when they talked, they could be on the phone together for hours, no matter what time of the day or night!

They treasured their friendship, and I know Gloria was grateful to have a friend who had stuck so close throughout her life.

Gloria was a simple woman. She wasn’t interested in fancy things. When she was doing rehab at Countryside, she wasn’t happy about it, but did enjoy getting to make tie-dye t-shirts. That tie-dyed shirt remained one of her favorite items, even once she returned home.

It’s important to remember and celebrate the life of someone you love. Sometimes it is easy to focus merely on their death and to lose sight of the fact that they also lived. My hope today is that we can walk the balance of celebrating Gloria’s life, even as we grapple with the fact of her death.

In the Bible, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived said something that seems strange to most of us.

            2 Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. 4 A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time. (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4, NLT)

Most people are not eager to go to funerals. They’re not fun. They are sad. Most of us would prefer to go to a party instead. But Solomon reminds us that even though funerals aren’t fun, they are valuable to us, because they help us remember what’s really important.

As we stand in a cemetery at the grave of someone we love, we are reminded that it doesn’t matter how much money you make or how “successful” you appear in the eyes of others. Standing at a grave reminds us of what is really important.

One of the things that comes into sharp focus in a cemetery is the reality that questions of faith, about what happens when we die, are not merely theoretical. As we stand in a cemetery, the meaning and purpose of life and the question of whether there is life beyond the grave suddenly takes on new meaning and importance.

Fortunately, the Bible offers answers to these important questions. Jesus told His disciples,

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” (John 14:1-4, NLT)

Jesus told them that there is indeed life beyond the grave. He promises that there is a glorious eternity in Heaven for everyone who knows the way to where He is going.

His disciples, however, were confused by this statement. One of them spoke up and told Jesus, we don’t know the way! How do we get to where you are going? Jesus answered simply and directly,

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, NLT)

Jesus made it clear that there is only one way for us to experience eternity in Heaven. It is not by being a good enough person. It is not by hoping that we’ve somehow done more good things than bad things. As a matter of fact, Jesus has been quite clear that none of us deserves to go to Heaven when we die.

But, the reason Jesus says He is the only way to the Father (to Heaven) is because Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sin. Every one of us stands guilty before God. Jesus offers us forgiveness. If we will embrace His offer and follow Him with our lives, we can have assurance that we will live even though we die.

That is the hope I hold out to you today, and the challenge I give to you today. As we stand in this place, we remember what’s really important. Each of us will one day face death as well. The good news is, Jesus makes it possible for us to do so with confidence, knowing that if we trust in Him, we will go the place He has prepared for us.

As we conclude today, I want to draw a few lessons we can learn from the life of Gloria Thompson

1. You don’t have to have a lot of money or fancy things to enjoy life. As a matter of fact, sometimes a simple life helps you clearly see what’s really important.

2. Life is short, so you might as well have fun, even if it means making bird noises while you’re working.

3. If you care about people, you should let them know. You can do that by telling them, by making time for them, or even by giving them your bedroom.

4. There is never a bad time for cake.

5. You can make a profound impact on others simply by being consistent and working hard.

6. Everyone will ultimately taste death for ourselves. So we need to decide whether we stand with Jesus or not, because it’s actually the most important decision we can make.

Will you pray with me?

Dear Lord, we thank you for Gloria Thompson. Thank you for her life and her legacy. Thank you for the impact she made on each person here today. God, we ache with our loss today. We pray for your peace and comfort. Help us to find the hope you intend for us through Jesus and the promise of life beyond the grave. In the coming days, weeks, and months, Lord, we ask for your help. Surround this family and these friends with your love as they carry on. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.