Beth Rene Thompson

Beth Rene Thompson, 40, of rural Paola, KS, passed away unexpectedly Sunday, September 11, 2022. Beth was born at St. Luke’s Hospital, in Kansas City, MO on March 31, 1982, to Gary Thompson and Joanne (Meyer) Thompson.

Visitation for family and friends will be held Friday, September 30, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m., at Dengel & Son Mortuary – Louisburg Chapel, 1 Aquatic Dr., Louisburg, KS. Friends and family members will gather at the Thompson Farm following the services.

Beth attended Louisburg schools and graduated from Louisburg High School, Louisburg, KS, Class of 2000. She excelled in all the school sports, and played Varsity Volleyball, including at the 1997 State Championship game, Varsity Basketball, Varsity Softball and Cheerleading. She was awarded the Louisburg Teacher Scholarship and attended University of Kansas for one year. She also attended Johnson County Community College and Baker University.

Beth was married to Benjamin Ming, of Louisburg, KS in 2003. They had one child, Maggie Rene Ming. The marriage dissolved in 2005, but they continued a relationship raising their daughter, Maggie.

After Maggie was born, Beth worked for American Family of Family Physicians in proficiency testing and as program coordinator, followed by an opportunity to travel as account manager for Orchard Software where she lived briefly in Indiana.

In 2009, Beth was married and divorced J. Grasle, of Granite City, IL and lost everything she achieved due to the turbulence of the relationship. She reverted to her maiden name after terminating their relationship and severing all ties.

Even as Beth started over from scratch, she continued to try to help all people she met that was struggling from domestic violence, drug addiction, and homelessness to offer encouragement and support. Struggling through many challenges, she worked hard in various jobs, including Fred P. Otts, Tanners and most recently at Amazon, Kansas City, KS warehouse in quality assurance. Beth was always well liked by coworkers, customers, and her supervisors. She excelled at whatever she did. Even at Amazon, she excelled and was recognized for exceeding company goals for 8 consecutive quarters and 8 straights month of zero errors and the Gardner warehouse, and, recently, at the KCK warehouse, she was training new employees to teach them her tips and tricks of efficiency.

When not working, Beth was an avid sports fan, following all the area sports teams, including the KU Jayhawks, KC Royals, Sporting KC, and especially, the Kansas City Chiefs. Her favorite activity was tailgating at a Chiefs game or gathering at a watch party. Her hobbies included home improvement projects, camping, canoeing, corn hole, attending Starlight and musicals. She found peace and tranquility in music and Christian podcasts.

Survivors include daughters, Maggie Rene Ming, of Louisburg, KS and Emma Marie Duckworth, of Lawrence, KS; parents, Gary and Joanne (Meyer) Thompson; siblings, Melissa Thompson Steinke (Jason); Jessica Thompson Duckworth; William Thompson (Danielle); Joseph Thompson Frogge (Alex); and many nieces and a nephew, and many cousins, all of whom she maintained a good relationship.

Preceding her in death are her grandparents, Murde and Eva (Dingus) Thompson, of Kansas City, KS, and Lloyd and Eufemia (Rodriguez) Meyer, of Metairie, LA, her aunt, Joyce (Meyer) Jung, of Merced, CA, and uncle, Chester W. Thompson, of Kansas City, KS.

The family suggests memorial contributions to Safehome, Inc., a domestic violence shelter for domestic violence victims and their children, c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary PO Box 669, Louisburg, KS 66053.