Elsie Raude Thompson, who came to the world in the Philippines on December 5th, 1932 lived an unforgettable journey for 87 years up until she took her last breath on February 23rd, 2020 in the United States. The story of her life is one that captures the essence of what it means to embody perseverance, determination, strength, and faith.
Her life did not start with many blessings. Her difficult journey started when her mother died while she was only 5 years old. Shortly after, she lost her father during the war forcing a life of a vagabond upon her. Elsie, known by many as Elsa, proved that with Jesus anything is possible in the life of poverty, entrepreneurship, self-discovery, exploring love, and rediscovering herself.
After living among many people from house to house, knocking on doors to beg for food, she had to find answers to her own questions as to the meaning of life finding the direction to move forward. From a life of poverty, she was able to uplift herself and became an entrepreneur by having her own store. She found love in many places and in return showed what love means to her own children. With love, Elsa found the ability to uproot her family from the Philippines to the United States toward a better life and the pursuit of happiness. Her love for her family kept her spirits high as she provided for them working from scrubbing plates, to scrubbing floors, and to scrubbing ships, just to keep a warm home for her children to come home to. Elsa then found passion in cosmetology and love for hairstyling which brought her life to new heights.
Most importantly, she found the love of God to be the strength that she and anyone could ever need to overcome whatever struggles, adversities, and hardships she encountered in her life’s journey. Dying on February 23rd surrounded by family on that hospital bed may have been the end of her journey here on earth, but it marked beginning her journey in paradise.
