Adella Thompson

Adella Thompson, age 90, of McIntosh, MN, passed away on Wednesday, September 29th, at Poplar Meadows Senior Living in McIntosh. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 3rd, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in McIntosh with the Rev. Gordon Syverson officiating. Interment will be in Our Savior’s Lutheran Cemetery, McIntosh. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service on Sunday at the church. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of McIntosh and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com.  The funeral service will be recorded and available to view later in the day on Sunday on the Carlin website.

Adella Thompson was born on February 16, 1931 to Theodore and Bertha Sylvester. She grew up outside of Eldred, MN on a farm with her parents and two brothers, Russel and Charles. She graduated from Central High School in 1949 and attended Moorhead State College where she earned her teaching certificate. Adella started her first teaching job in McIntosh, MN in 1951. Shortly after becoming the new teacher in town, a young man from Abrahamson's Hardware started making frequent deliveries to the school and spent a little extra time hoping to strike up a conversation with Adella. After dating for a short time, they got engaged, and Harald Thompson and Adella Sylvester were married on July 23, 1952 and began their life together in McIntosh. Adella continued to teach until they started their family in 1954. Daughters Ann, Naomi and Ruth and son, Mark rounded out their family.

Once their children were a little older, Adella went back to teaching and was a 3rd and 4th grade teacher for 18 years. She retired from teaching in 1985 and kept busy by volunteering at Mac Manor, where she created beautiful flower beds and spent time with residents. When Harald retired from the Hardware Store, they were able to travel more, which they loved and they spent their winters in Mission, TX for years.

Adella spent countless hours making McIntosh a more beautiful place by planting flowers around town, tending numerous flower beds and continuously expanding her personal garden.

Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren lovingly referred to her as 'Grandma Delly.' They learned all about the delicacy of fresh strawberries with cream, eating peas right out of the garden, the joy of camping and fishing, and, in later years, playing with the chickens at Poplar Meadows.

Her family was blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Adella during her 90 years, among them: Never throw away a Cool Whip or butter container, they make for ideal Tupperware. Lefse is best with loads of butter and rosettes can never have too much sugar. If you eat only the edges of a pan of brownies, there are no calories. It has been a good day when you end it with dirt from the garden under your fingernails.

Adella is survived by her husband, Harald, McIntosh, MN; four children: Ann (Bob) Vesledahl, Erskine, MN; Naomi (Dennis) Hillgartner, Cedarburg, WI; Ruth (Wes) Vetter, Cherokee, IA; Mark (Karen) Thompson, McIntosh, MN; 10 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; siblings: Russel (LaMae) Sylvester, Fisher, MN; Charles Sylvester, Fisher, MN; several cousins, nephews, and nieces. She was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Bertha Sylvester, father and mother-in-law, Theodore and Rosetta Thompson, brother and sister in-laws; Gordon & Mary Thompson, Martha & Orville Nelson and Audrey Sylvester.

Adella's family thanks all the people in their lives who have lifted them in prayer and friendship. Special thanks to the wonderful staff and caregivers at Poplar Meadows and Hospice of the Red River Valley. In the end, when most names had faded from her memory, she always carried her kind smile and that's how she'd want us to remember her.

The family requests that memorials be shared with The WEM Alumni Association for educational scholarships and the community of McIntosh for beautification projects in the city, since that was something near and dear to Adella's heart.