Glenn Kenneth Thompson

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A Legacy of Life and Service

Glenn Kenneth Thompson began his earthly life on June 4, 1934, as the firstborn son of Stanley and Mildred Thompson, and he was later joined by siblings Earl, Mark and Karen. Family connections and severe allergies led the Thompsons to Seattle, WA, where Glenn grew up. He attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN, then finished his electrical engineering degree at the University of Minnesota. During this time, Glenn married Constance Lindal, the “cute Canadian girl” that he met at Augsburg. Connie was American but had the distinction of living in Winnipeg before college.

Glenn worked as an electrical engineer for Honeywell and later moved to Florida to work with Boeing on the Apollo space program. After the space years ended, he moved to Fort Lauderdale and worked for Parkway General Hospital. Later work included a small engineering company, and then a lengthy career as  Director of Building and Grounds at Miami-Dade Junior College (now Miami-Dade Community College). A career highlight from that job was his resourcefulness in acquiring portable classrooms, enabling Miami Dade to start classes on time after Hurricane Andrew had devastated South Florida.During this time, daughter Julie had begun attending Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, and the family began going as well.

A health crisis in 1985 changed the trajectory of Glenn’s life. When a lump was found in his lung, Glenn was scheduled for surgery. In his words, “I knew that I was not right with the Lord, and I did not have the assurance that I would go to heaven if I died.” Since Glenn and Connie had become involved at Coral Ridge, they knew Charlie Hainline, a very active member of the Evangelism Explosion program. Charlie asked Glenn the two EE questions:

1. If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven?
2. If you were to stand at Heaven’s door and were asked “Why should we let you enter?” what would you say?

After their conversation, Glenn could answer those questions: the first with a “Yes” and the second with “Because I am trusting Christ who died for my sins, making me sinless in God’s eyes and eligible to enter Heaven. I have eternal life and will be with Him forever.” An amazing thing happened after that decision. Doctors checked the lump in preparation for surgery and found that it had shrunk from golf-ball size to pencil-eraser size and then it ultimately disappeared. Surgery was cancelled and a grateful Glenn began living a transformed life. Short-term mission trips with Wycliffe Bible Translators and then a second career with Mission Aviation Fellowship gave him a chance to use his electrical engineering skills to serve the kingdom in practical ways. One highlight was constructing a small hydro-electric dam in a jungle setting in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, providing reliable power for the hospital laundry services. Building a school for missionary children as well as improving homes and electrical service for missionaries on the field gave Glenn great satisfaction as well as a chance to work with nationals.

While they were making plans for the mission field, Glenn and Connie had determined to make annual visits to see their grandchildren. Those yearly visits were treasured and often included a list of home repair projects for Glenn to undertake as part of the time spent together.

Missionaries are not immune from struggles and Glenn went through a testing time that ultimately led to returning home from Irian Jaya. Counseling, Christian fellowship, excellent Bible teaching, and time with family were all beneficial in beginning a new chapter of life. Glenn and Connie returned to their Florida roots, living in Cocoa Beach, then Live Oak and finally joining family in South Florida.

After retirement, Glenn and Connie traveled often and as soon as a trip was completed, plans would begin for the next one. Glenn spent many hours working on family legacy books, beginning with a biography of his mother Mildred Thompson, then writing about his mother-in-law Hilda Lindal, and finally working on his own life story. He continued to enjoy serving others in many ways, even if electrical work was not on the project list any more.

One of the great blessings in Glenn’s life was involvement with Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, both for the gospel message that led to salvation, as well as the many service opportunities, including the mission work. Glenn’s life was enriched beyond measure by a heritage of faith that included ancestors who served as evangelists and pastors, as well as strong churches that preached the gospel and offered Biblical teaching. Through times of testing and times of joy, Glenn and Connie remained committed to one another, reaching a remarkable 71 years of marriage.

If Glenn were to close out his life story and testimony, he would echo the words of the “Amazing Grace” hymn-writer and evangelist John Newton: “I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior.” Glenn will be remembered by his family and by friends around the world as a man whose life was changed by the gospel and who gave his engineering talents to serve God’s kingdom.

Legacy of Family

Glenn and Connie have five children, all married: Julie Thompson Caprera (Robert) of Southbridge, MA; Janet Thompson Beavin (Robert) of Berryville, VA; Wayne Thompson (Anne) of Cincinnati, OH; Jeanine Thompson Coleman (Mark) of Plantation, FL; and Bruce Thompson (Linda) of Deerfield Beach, FL.

Glenn and Connie have 12 grandchildren: Paul Caprera (Allison) of Albany, NY; Ashley Caprera Lowe (Chris) of Woodstock, CT; Michael Caprera of Colorado Springs, CO; Amy Beavin Patten (David) of Vienna, VA; Jeremy Beavin (Roxanne) of Winchester, VA; Amanda Beavin Gauldin (Chris) of Leesburg, VA; Joel Beavin of Leesburg, VA; Abigail Beavin of Charlestown, WV; Adam Thompson (Marie) of Cincinnati, OH; Sarah Thompson Dimitri (John) of Ellerslie, GA; Grace Coleman Neetz (Benaiah) of Twin Falls, ID; Glory Coleman of Plantation, FL; Rachel and Caleb Thompson, both of Deerfield Beach, FL.

Glenn and Connie have 20 great-grandchildren, ranging in age from one year to teenager. Glenn is also survived by a sister, Karen Thompson Reagan (Tom) of Seattle, WA, and a brother, Earl Thompson, of Wenatchee, WA. He is preceded in death by a brother, Mark Thompson, from Edmonds, WA.

 In memory of Glenn and in lieu of flowers, please consider Mission Aviation Fellowship, New Life Baptist Church or Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church