Diane Kay Thompson

MISSOULA ~ Diane Kay Thompson passed away on May 4, 2022 in Missoula Montana from Multiple Myeloma.

She was born February 23, 1949 in Dillon, Montana to Oliver (Smokey) and Betty Lou (Glassey) Thompson. In 1950, little sister Linda Lee Completed the family.

The Thompsons moved to Butte, Montana in 1954 and she was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that same year. While in Butte, she took acrobatics for a year and was a member of the Butte Figure Skating Club.

In 1959, the family moved to Deer Lodge. Diane attended 5th through 12th grades there and graduated in 1967 from Powell County High School. During this time she was a member of the Rainbow Girls, the National Honor Society, and an honorary member of the high school Pep Club. She worked for a summer at the Registrar’s Office and then attended the Crippled Children’s School (now the Anne Carlsen School) in Jamestown, North Dakota, for 1 ½ years, and was employed by Melland, Incorporated as an information receptionist for 3 ½ years. Diane returned to Deer Lodge in 1972. She attended the University of Montana from which she graduated with high honors in 1983 as an elementary school teacher with a minor in reading.

A career with the Forest Service beckoned in the fall of 1984 when she applied and accepted an information receptionist position with the Helena National Forest in Helena, MT. Diane earned several promotions and made some life-long friends there. In 1991, she transferred to the Missoula Ranger District as a Support Services Supervisor and worked there until 2000 when she transferred to the Lolo National Forest as a Procurement Technician, a job she retired from in 2008. She enjoyed her career, the learning experiences offered in that, and the super friends she made along the way.

Diane loved playing cards, doing crafts, cha-chinging, traveling, and the Montana Griz football team. She attended at least 4 home games a year and had a wonderful time at the tailgating parties. Her friends took her on new adventures all the time and kept her very busy. Besides her family, she considered her friends true blessings in her life.

Those preceding her in death were her father Smokey and mother Betty Lou Thompson. Maternal great-grandparents Hazel and Thomas Powe of Grantsdale, MT. Maternal grandparents Phyllis and Edward Glassey of Wisdom, MT. Paternal grandparents Alma and Edmund Thompson of Bannack and Dillon. And numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Survivors include: sister Linda Lee (George) Hucke of Fallon, NV, nephew Wade (Cathy) Hucke of Dillon MT, niece Wende Hook (Ozzie Henke) of Fallon, NV, great-nephews Derrick Hucke (Clarissa Martin) of Havre, MT, and Donovan Hucke of Miles City, MT, great-nieces Alexandra Pokrandt of Birmingham AL, and Camryn Hook of Fallon, NV, great –uncle Larry Haas of Hamilton, MT, uncle Bill Brown of Hamilton, MT, and numerous cousins.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian church in Deer Lodge, MT on June 30, 2022 at 11:00 am. University of Montana Griz apparel is strongly encouraged. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Diane’s name to the First Presbyterian Church. 500 Milwaukee Avenue. Deer Lodge, MT 59722 or the Deer Lodge Elks Club, PO Box, 777, Deer Lodge, MT 59722.

Arrangements are under the care of Sunset Memorial Funeral Home and Crematory in Missoula.