Pearle - age 93 - Los Alamos Thomsen

Pearle Lois Thomsen died peacefully on October 12, 2013. She was born on February 12, 1920 and grew up during the Great Depression in Galesburg, Illinois. She attended nursing school and worked as a nurse anesthetist. Her first husband, Johnny Maxwell, was killed in the South Pacific in World War II. She married John Thomsen in 1945 and lived in Seattle, Denver, Cleveland, and Peoria, Illinois; she lived much of her adult life in Des Moines, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her parents Arthur and Margaret Johnson; her husbands, Johnny Maxwell and John Thomsen; sister, Gladys Glaviano; and brother, Raymond Johnson. She is survived by her three children Jane (James) McCarthy of Dallas Texas; Robert (Michelle) Thomsen of Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Margaret Thomsen of Crystal, Minnesota. She is also survived by four grandchildren, JJ (Kathryn) McCarthy, Elise McCarthy, Davis Thomsen, Kristine Thomsen, and one-great grandson, Barrett McCarthy. After John’s retirement they alternated living between their cabin near Bigfork, Minnesota and Peoria, Arizona. She has lived the last three years in Los Alamos, New Mexico. She loved beauty, including listening to and playing classical music, painting, quilting, sewing, knitting and china painting. She was a wonderful cook and enjoyed entertaining friends. Her gardens were places of beauty and bounty. She and her husband John travelled widely in the world, especially to Denmark. Her faith was central to her life; when she realized that her kidney failure was going to take her from this life she was confident that she was safe in God’s hands. Her family is grateful for the wonderful care she received at Aspen Ridge Lodge and for her many friends. There will be a memorial service for her on Saturday, November 9, 2013 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Memorial gifts may be made to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 2400 North Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544. Ashes will be interred next spring in Ringsted, Iowa. The family of Pearle Thomsen has entrusted their loved one to DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the Española Valley.\r\n

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