Howard Thomsen

September 6, 1921 — February 25, 2009

Howard Newman Thomsen, the son of Chris and Margaret Newman Thomsen, was born September 6, 1921 on a farm south of Royal, Iowa. His childhood years were spent near Rossie, where he received his education, graduating from Rossie High School at the age of 16. He was baptized and confirmed at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Royal. After attending one year at Drake College on a basketball scholarship, he returned home to farm with his father. Howard married Marjorie Joyce Adams on October 8, 1946 in Ottawa, KS. After their marriage, they moved to Hampton, IA, where they operated a dry cleaning business for 2 years. They moved to the Greenville, IA area and in 1965, moved to the family farm near Rossie, where they farmed for many years. Marjorie passed away on July 1, 1988. During his younger years and all of his adult life, Howard was an avid sports fan. He played high school baseball for Rossie and semi-pro baseball into his 40's. He officiated basketball games for 25 years and also scouted and coached for many years. Athletics were a very important part of his life. Howard married Joyce (Berberich) Galm on August 3, 1996 in Royal. Following their marriage, they lived on a farm north of Royal. He was currently a member of St. Louis Catholic Church. Howard and Joyce enjoyed traveling and spending time with their families. Howard passed away at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at the age of 87. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Marjorie; a stepson, Terry Galm; and a brother and his wife, Elmer and Hazel Thomsen. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Joyce of Royal; three daughters: Deborah Thomsen of Colorado Springs, CO, Kristi (Sue) & Butch Noethe of Spirit Lake, IA and Tracy & Scott Feuerbach of Monument, CO; six grandchildren: Chad, Andrea, Nicholas, Brad, Jordan and Cole; his stepchildren: Steve & Pam Galm of Spencer, Janet Galm & Jim Ransom of Royal, Lynnette & Jeff Cronk of Royal, David & Molly Galm of Spencer, Lori & Dennis Loneman of Mt. Carmel, IA, Lana & Todd Vetter of Sioux Falls, SD and Jeff Galm & Wendy Royce of Arlington, MN; other relatives and many, many friends.

SERVICES

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, February 28 at St. Louis Catholic Church in Royal, Iowa. There will be a lunch immediately after the service at the church.

OFFICIATING

Father Bob Brown

CASKET BEARERS

Nick Noethe - Brad Noethe Chad Noethe - Rick Adams Doug Adams - Ned Adams Mark Mills - Bob Rusk Jim Rusk - Bruce Merrill

VISITATION

Visitation will begin at 3:00 p.m., Friday with the family present from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday evening at the St. Louis Catholic Church in Royal. A Vigil service will be held at 7:00 p.m. Friday evening also at the church.

MUSIC

Organist: Florence "Fluff" Ihry

INTERMENT

Burial will be at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at North Lawn Memorial Park, Spencer, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in Howard's name.

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