Lynne Kathleen Thompson

Lynne Thompson, age 78 of Litchfield, formerly Lynne Palm of Grove City, died Sunday, September 12, 2021, at Meeker Memorial Hospital in Litchfield. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, September 18, 2021, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grove City. A visitation will be held on Friday, September 17, 2021, from 4:00-7:00 PM at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Litchfield and one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be held at First Lutheran Cemetery in Grove City. The funeral service will be livestreamed at johnsonhagglund.com. Lynne Kathleen (McKenzie) (Palm) Thompson was born September 18, 1942, and grew up in St. Paul with her parents, Ken & Em McKenzie, and sister Gail. She graduated from Harding High School in St. Paul in 1960. Lynne attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and made some great lifelong friends. This is also where she met Bruce, and they were married at the chapel on the Gustavus Adolphus campus in 1965. After Bruce completed his master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, they moved to Michigan for two years before returning to Bloomington, MN. By 1972, Lynne and Bruce made the decision to leave the city life and start their roots in Grove City, MN where they raised their two children, Heidi and David. Lynne enjoyed her family, church, community, and friends. Her time was always filled with volunteering, planning committees, shuttling, and supporting her children’s activities. She was on many committees and leadership positions within Trinity Lutheran Church. She served on the school board for Atwater-Grove City school district for a few years. She enjoyed activism, volunteering, and supporting environmental causes. She believed in trying to make the world a better place. Some of her organizations and efforts included American Association of University Women paper drives and development of recycling centers, Minnesota Against Dangerous Dumps, and serving on the boards for Grove City CARE program and Meeker County Community Homes. When her first husband Bruce died in 1995, Lynne took on the family-owned insurance agency. After running the business for a few years, she sold it. Lynne then worked at the Willmar Public Library. It was there that she not only got to enjoy her love of books but also where she met her second love, Ardell Thompson. Lynne and Ardell were married at the chapel at Green Lake Bible Camp in Spicer, MN in 2005 and then lived at the farm in Grove City until Ardell’s passing in 2014. Then, in 2015, Lynne moved to neighboring Litchfield for a less maintenance lifestyle off the farm. Lynne loved socializing with friends and family. She was always double checking her calendar to schedule the next gathering or trip. Every summer went out with the highly anticipated McKenzie Clan camping weekend at state and regional parks around Minnesota, where antics and games abounded as much as the food on the table. And when her big sister invited her to search out other horizons, she packed her bags to explore Jamaica, Germany, England, China, Peru, Thailand, and Malaysia. Ardell and Lynne also enjoyed travelling around the USA with extra fond memories of Alaska. Lynne was always up for some adventures, laughs, and even sometimes mischief with her social groups. She enjoyed the Sunshine Club, Birthday Group and “Red Hots.” While the activities were always something new, like a theatre show, a grape stomping at a winery, or a day trip to a special place in Minnesota, it always included great friendship, lots of laughs, and likely a cup of coffee. Lynne is survived by two children: Heidi Palms of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and David (Marcy) Palm of Ft. Collins, CO; grandchildren: Jake (12) and Emmy (9) Palm of Ft Collins, CO; sister Gail Smith of Stillwater, MN; nephew Doug (Wendy) Smith and family of Stillwater, MN; niece Lisa (Brent) Glowa and family of Mantorville, MN; sister-in-law Sharon Smith (Brad Bird) of Grove City, MN; and nephew Mike (Karen) Smith and family of California. She is also survived by the Thompson family including step-children: Keith (Margaret) Thompson of Grove City, MN, Kevin Thompson of New London, MN, and Karen Thompson of Atwater, MN; step-grandchildren: Josh (Kathy) Stillwell and family of Winsted, MN, Terry (Jenni Derheim) Coughlin and family of Litchfield, MN, and JT (Sarah) Coughlin and family of Grove City, MN; seven step great-grandchildren and one step great-great grandchild. Lynne is also survived by Ardell’s brothers: Terry (Audrey) Thompson of Atwater, MN and Kins (Karan) Thompson of St. Michael, MN. Lynne was preceded in death by her father Kenneth McKenzie, mother Emma (Jahn) McKenzie, husband Bruce Palm, husband Ardell Thompson, and brothers-in-law: Don Smith, Herb Smith, and Wesley Thompson. Please sign our online guestbook at www.johnsonhagglund.com