Gail Thompson

Gail Thompson, 86, of Hampton, formerly of Waverly, passed away Wednesday, August 15, 2018, at Heritage Care Center in Iowa Falls. Gail Louise Schoeneman was born on March 31, 1932, in Ackley, Iowa, to Fannie Winifred (Dreyer) Schoeneman and Fred Max Schoeneman. She lived in Ackley and attended the Ackley Schools, graduating in 1950. Gail started playing the piano at age 5, playing and practicing throughout her life. She and her younger sister Frances kept busy with the horses their father kept in a barn and pasture across the street from their home. Besides riding horses, they very much enjoyed Sundays spent visiting their grandparents William and Martha Dreyer and other relatives in and around Aplington, always followed by attending Sunday night services at the Baptist Church in Aplington. After high school graduation Gail enrolled in the music department at the University of Colorado in Boulder, majoring in piano. She completed her freshman year and returned to Iowa to marry Daryl Thompson from Geneva on June 21, 1951. They farmed near Geneva for a couple years, then went back to the University of Colorado to pursue degrees. They moved back to Iowa, where Gail nearly always taught piano and Daryl had various Sales and Manufacturing jobs over the years, eventually settling in Waverly, Iowa, and making many precious friendships through those years. While living in Hampton they had two sons; Kent in 1955, and Todd in 1962. Sometime in the late 1960's Gail experienced various neurological problems with her walking, later determined to be Multiple Sclerosis. She fought the disease on many fronts over the decades, studying and fighting it every step of the way, but never winning the physical battle. However, she won the mental battle, keeping an amazing positive attitude through the physical degradation that the disease caused through nearly five decades. For many years she said she was the oldest person she knew of with the disease. In spite of the struggles she had, she always encouraged others to press on, to never give up. Gail loved playing the piano, and loved even more teaching others to play the piano, especially children. Her family lost count of how many youngsters learned to play under Gail's direction. She never got tired of teaching others to play, and later adopted the famous Suzuki method of teaching piano, with great results. Gail divorced in 1981, and later moved to Arizona to obtain relief from pain caused by the Midwest weather. While in Arizona she met and married William August Natzke, a former Iowan, in 1988. Years later, and after Bill passed away, Gail moved back to Iowa to be closer to her family and old friends, buying a home in Hampton. She continued to get worse with her MS, and was eventually taken from us by a bone infection. She will be missed by many. Gail was involved with Treble Clef Club and Antique Club. She enjoyed playing the piano, writing stories, teaching, cooking, playing bridge and reading science. Gail is survived by her sons Kent (Rebecca) Thompson of Lawton, Iowa, and Todd Thompson of Sioux City, Iowa, grandchildren Bryan (Jessica) Thompson of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Rachel Thompson of Sioux City, Iowa, great-grandsons Bennett and Archer Thompson of Cheyenne, Wyoming, sister Frances Muller of Bloomington, Minnesota, and many nephews, nieces, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents Fred and Fannie and her husband Bill.

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Gail Thompson

March 31, 1932 - August 15, 2018