Betty J. Thompson, age 87, died Saturday, October 3, 2009, at her home in Brookings. Funeral services will be 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, October 7, 2009, at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings, with interment in Pioneer Lutheran Cemetery near White. Visitations will be from 5-7 P.M. Tuesday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings.

Betty Jane (Knudsen) Thompson was born March 9, 1922, in Brookings County, to Einar and Marie (Nielsen) Knudsen. She attended school at Sterling No. 43 through the eighth grade and graduated from Brookings High School in 1940. On October 8, 1941, she married Manfred Thompson in Brookings. They farmed near Bruce and White. Betty worked in the meat department at Spies Super Value for three years, Brookview Manor for seven years, and at SDSU for seven years until she retired. Manfred died July 29, 1982.

Betty was a member of Pioneer Lutheran Church and the American Legion Auxiliary. She enjoyed crocheting, reading, and traveling.

Survivors include a son, David (Rosella) Thompson, of Brookings; a daughter-in-law, Linda Thompson, of Fridley, Minnesota; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a brother, Walter Knudsen, of Long Prairie, Minnesota; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Manfred; two sons: Gerald and Donald; a daughter-in-law, Joanne; a granddaughter, Becky Lynn; and a brother, Svend Knudsen.