Elsa Ekenstierna Thompson
Elsa Ekenstierna Thompson, 85, died May 25, 2019 in Marietta. She was born in Bayonne, NJ on February 18, 1934 to Anna Scott Ekenstierna and Harvey Conrad Ekenstierna. On June 6, 1956 she was married to William H. (Bill) Thompson, Jr. of Marietta at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. They were the parents of three children, William, III, Andrew Miller and Laura Scott, and the grandparents of Annalea, Nathaniel (Nat) and August (Gus) Thompson of Marietta; John David (Jake) Rudie Jr.; Phoebe and William, IV (Liam) Thompson of Whipple, and their mother Julie Zickefoose. She was pre- ceded in death by her parents, her husband and very recently by her son, Bill.
Elsa was the child of a Swedish immigrant father, Harvey, who won his citizenship fighting for the U.S. in World War I under General John J. Pershing in France. Their family moved from Bayonne to Roselle, New Jersey early in her life, and she resided there until she graduated from Marietta College. Elsa’s mother, Anna Scott Ekenstierna, was the child of Scots-Irish immigrants from County Donegal. Elsa was proud of both her Swedish heritage and her noble lineage, traced through the Saxe-Coburg line that includes the Royal Family in England. Her genealogy was traced by her cousin, Alfred Winroth, back to 2 B.C., and included Charlemagne. Her Scottish clan was Sinclair and derived from Roslin Church. She never let her husband forget it.
She met her husband at Marietta College in 1955, when his band was contracted to do a telethon on WTAP and needed a singer. Elsa (a proud member of the Chi Omega sorority, and a drama major) was considered one of the best singers at Marietta College, and Bill, Jr. led a jazz ensemble group locally. Elsa tried out, singing “Lover Man” by Billie Holliday, her favorite female singer. She got the job. She also agreed to a date with Bill. On the first date, he kissed her and proposed marriage. She accepted and after graduation from MC, they were married. Elsa did her student teaching under the tutelage of Bill’s mother, Margaret Miller Thompson, a beloved English teacher at Marietta High School. Elsa loved was especially inspired by Laura K. Miller, her husband’s great aunt. She taught Elsa a lot about cooking, gardening and putting your church at the center of your life.
After Bill finished his Master’s Degree at Ohio University, the couple moved to Avalon N.J., and Bill joined the Atlantic City Press, while Elsa began teaching seventh graders in Cape May County. In 1961, Bill accepted an offer to join Central College in Pella, Iowa. The couple loaded up their MG and headed westward. This move changed their lives, and they made many lifelong friends, saw the birth of their three children, and joined the Dutch Singers. Pella is famous for its windows, but also for its annual Tulip Time festival in May. Bill’s skills as an accordion and calliope player earned the family a special status in Pella; Bill, Elsa and their children were embraced and mentored by some of the finest people in the world during their ten years in Pella.
In 1971, Bill received an offer to return to Marietta College as Vice President for Development. Not long after arriving, Elsa learned about the Betsey Birders, a local group that took regular bird watching trips up and down the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. Marietta Times nature columnist Pat Murphy taught Elsa, Billy and Andy all about the pastime. Bill, Jr. got the bug, and suggested they start a magazine devoted to bird watching. The family agreed and Bird Watcher’s Digest was born in the summer of 1978 in their home and still operates today at 149 Acme St. Elsa served as Co-Publisher with her husband until the mid-1990s. Until her death, she still worked 4-5 days a week in customer service and served as “The Voice of BWD.”
Elsa had many passions. First was her family; second, her pets that, over time included beloved dogs including Tinkerbelles I and II, Ginger, Dudley Posey, Sentra, Pokey, and lately her cats Willie Nelson and Doris Day; third, Bird Watcher’s Digest; fourth, Marietta College, for whom she served as a trustee, and Chi Omega Sorority; fifth, her Christian faith and St. Luke’s Lutheran Church; sixth, music, which earned her a husband, and found flight in the Bill Thompson Trio and Duck Creek Ensemble; seventh, the beach and bay at Avalon, NJ, where she spent her childhood and college summers, and later shared with her children and grandchildren; eighth, her best friend Joan Hushion and DaVinci’s Restaurant, her second home on Sunday nights (so much so, that a plaque was erected in their honor – it’s still on the wall in booth 9); ninth, Marietta Natural History Society, which she founded with Marilyn Ortt and Diane Mitchell; tenth, the Marietta Farmer’s Market, which she helped found as part of the Marietta Welfare League as a fundraiser for Marietta’s part in our nation’s bicentennial in 1976; eleventh, Halloween, during which her performance as “The Witch of Warren Street” terrified and delighted trick or treaters of all ages; and twelfth, a tie: Morning Rotary, with many dear friends and Campus Martius Museum, where she served as a docent. A special thanks goes to Dick Hanf, who ferried her to Morning Rotary the past few years.
A funeral service will be held at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, at 401 Scammel Street at 12pm on Saturday, June 1; visitors will be received at the church starting at 11am. A reception will follow the service in the church basement. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to the William and Elsa Thompson fund at the Marietta Community Foundation, to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, and to Marietta College.