Marcia Veldman ’56 Thompson

Marcia Ann (Veldman) Thompson, 88, passed away peacefully on April 29, 2022 in Ann Arbor, MI.
She was born in Grand Rapids, MI on March 29,1934 to Dr. Harold and Pearl Veldman, joining her older brother, Don, to complete the family. As a girl, she especially enjoyed summer trips to the family cottage at Whitefish Lake. She graduated from Creston High School in Grand Rapids in 1952. There, she was in the choir all four years and worked as the Art Editor for the school paper. She received her B.A. in Vocal Music from Hope College in Holland, MI in 1956, having spent her Junior year studying opera at the University of Indiana. Marcia married Dr. Norman Winslow Thompson in 1956, and moved to Ann Arbor, MI, where she lived the rest of her years. Together, the couple raised four children. In addition to caring for her family, Marcia was an active charter member of the University Reformed Church, where she served on the consistory as an elder and sang in the choir. For many years, she sang Alto in the prestigious Ann Arbor Cantata Singers and served on their board. Marcia also volunteered in many other capacities. She drove for Meals on Wheels, served as a village trustee in Barton Hills Village, and for more than two decades, offered her time and energy at the Friends Gift Shop at the University of Michigan Hospital. Marcia frequently hosted international guests of the hospital’s Endocrine Surgery Division along with her husband. She was also an avid tennis player, loved gardening and watching the birds, and enjoyed sewing, needlepoint and knitting. Along with cribbage, Marcia also loved words-she was an avid reader and an expert at crossword puzzles.
Marcia is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Robert Winslow Thompson ’79 and Michelle Ann Conlon of Richmond Heights, Missouri; daughter and son-in-law, Karen Louise Thompson ’83 and John T. VerHeek of Ann Arbor; daughter and son-in-law, Susan Margaret Thompson-Doering ’87 and Jeffrey Allen Doering of Canton, Michigan; and daughter, Jennifer Elizabeth Thompson ’89 (McGuffin) of Gilbert, Arizona. She leaves behind five grandchildren, Samuel Adam (and wife, Kaitlin) McGuffin, Jacob James McGuffin, Andrew James ’16 (and wife, Sara  Wielenga ’14) Neevel, Taylor Alexandra Thompson, Katrina Hope McGuffin, also three step-grandchildren, Nathaniel Alexander VerHeek, Joshua Allen Doering and Zachary Lee Doering. All of us will miss her greatly, as she impacted our lives with her lovely presence, enthusiastic interest in each of us and the wide influence of her strong faith and kindness.