ERNEST L. THOMPSON, 88, of Newburg, Oregon, passed away Wednesday, December 11, 2013.

Graveside services will be on Saturday, December 28th, at 10:30 a.m. at the Cedar Cemetery, rural Larrabee, Iowa. Visitation will be on Friday, December 27th from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. Online condolences can be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com

Ernest Lindley Thompson was born on December 13, 1924 to Oscar Allen and Rachel Grace (Pickett) Thompson at Merwin, Missouri. He was one of four sons, the first having died in infancy. Harold was three years old when the twins, Everett and Ernest, were born.

Both his father and mother were recorded Evangelical Friends Ministers. They shared the pulpit in many small country churches where they were called to serve. Except for the short stay in Missouri they spent their years pastoring churches in Kansas. It was while living in Eastern Kansas as an elementary student that Ernest first asked Jesus to come into his heart at an Evangelistic Meeting they attended one evening. That commitment was repeated many times as new understanding and light was found by reading the Scriptures and experience.

Ernest graduated from the 8th grade in a one-room country school. Only his 6th and 7th grades were in a two-room school. His first two years of High School were in Plains, Kansas. Then the twins joined their older brother at the Friends Academy in Haviland, Kansas. They graduated from High School at the Academy in 1941 and then spent 2 years attending the Junior College department and graduated in 1943. The school is now known as Barclay College.

Military service was not an option for the twins. As Conscientious Objectors they both spent 3 years in Alternate Service. Ernest was first sent to a camp in North Dakota. After 3 months he asked for a transfer to a camp in California where Everett was stationed and was allowed to transfer. After only 3 months in California, both boys and several others volunteered for Mental Hospital work in N.W. Iowa. They spent about 2 ½ years at the Cherokee State Hospital in various assigned wards and jobs.

During his last year a the Hospital he met Louise Urban. She, a sister and 2 cousins applied to work in the Domestic areas the summer before her senior year of High School. Ernest asked her to marry him that summer and they spent the next years being together as much as possible, either at her home in Larrabee, 7 miles north at church in Cherokee or other arranged meeting places. Wedding plans were discussed, but could not happen until she graduated and Ernest was discharged from Alternate Service. The couple were married on July 25, 1946.

It was the Spring of 1946 that Ernest and several other friends volunteered to tend a ship of domestic cattle that Brethren Church was collecting to be sent to war torn countries as relief after World War II. He was assigned to a ship loaded with horses being sent to Poland and was gone for 6 weeks. When he arrived back in the States he had word that he would be discharged in about 3 weeks. This allowed wedding plans to materialize and the date of July 25 was decided. His brother, Harold, was a minister and teacher in Idaho by this time and drove with Arlene and son, Dean, to Iowa to perform the ceremony.

While in Iowa Harold invited them to come to Idaho to live and attend the Junior year of college. So they headed west soom after the wedding. It was especially hard for Louise because she had never been very far away from home. He finished his Junior year of college at Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho.

Ernest and Louise decided to move to Newbery, Oregon for his Senior year of college. After a number of backsets, including Louise miscarrying twin girls at 5 months only two weeks after school started, it was necessary to leave Newberg and move back to Idaho and spend a year trying to pay bills and reorganize their lives.

It was exciting that three healthy children were born to Ernest and Louise. A son Stuart, was born in 1950, a daughter Janene, born in 1952 and a son Mark, was born in 1954.

Before they could arrange for the Senior College year in Nampa the Friends Church in Boise asked them to be their pastor for a year interim period. This happened and became the first fifty years of full time pastoral or Christian service. Although several attempts failed to allow him to finish College he finally graduated from Azusa Pacific University in Southern California with a B. A. Degree.

Ernest pastored 10 Friends Churches in 7 different States. He retired in 1997 after 50 years of service. The last 6 years were spent as the Chaplain of Boswell Memorial Hospital in Sun City, Arizona. This was a highlight in his ministry and a perfect cap to his many years as pastor. He may not be remembered for great oratory or sermons, but his love and concern for those he ministered in various places. His love of music and art will be remembered. His many chalk art presentations of spiritual truths and hymns and the paintings that hang on his walls at home or that had been given to some family or friends through the years have been especially appreciated.

Having pastored smaller churches and not able to acquire a good Retirement Account, daughter Janene Bowden and family offered a place in their lovely home for the retirement years. They made sure that all needs were supplied and as comfortable as possible.

In July of 2006 they celebrated 60 years of marriage with most of the family present. Louise ended over five years of Dementia and passed to her eternal reward the day after Christmas of 2006. On March 1 of 2008 Ernest decided to move to Friendsview Retirement Community of Newberg, Oregon where he was living when he passed the portal we have called death.