JoAnne Ruth Thompson

JoAnne lived a life filled with love, laughter, music, and devotion to her family. She was a proud homemaker for 15 years before dedicating many more years of service as a pharmacy technician at the state penitentiary and a certified nursing assistant at Madonna caring for others with compassion and kindness. She also worked as a bookkeeper at her husband's tax service.

JoAnne was an enthusiastic Nebraska Cornhusker fan, rarely missed a game and loved cheering on Husker football, volleyball, basketball, and softball. Music was another great joy in her life. Her favorite artists included Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, and Bob Seger. Born just three days after Barbra Streisand, JoAnne often joked that she could have been Barbra herself. She loved attending concerts and once famously called to point out that Neil Diamond hadn’t performed in Lincoln for quite some time. When he later mentioned at a concert in Lincoln, that someone had noticed his absence and inspired his return—JoAnne was proudly in the audience. She treasured traveling and fishing with her husband, George, sharing many adventures together. One favorite story involved her happily accepting the only fish another pair of fishermen had caught—on the condition that they throw it to her so she could truthfully say she caught a fish herself.

JoAnne loved reading, playing phase 10 and scat with her children and grandchildren, cribbage, antiquing, and visiting lighthouses, traveling to see many of them over the years. She especially loved traveling to visit her nieces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, cherishing every moment spent with them and never missing an opportunity to be present in their lives. She adored her two very special dogs, Toby and Molly.

Above all else, JoAnne loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren with all her heart. She had a contagious laugh, a playful spirit, and a way of making everyday moments memorable.

JoAnne is survived by her loving husband, George Thompson; her son Lee (Candice) Mills; her daughter Lisa (Jeff) Fischer; stepson Jeff (Cathy) Thompson; stepson Jim (Michelle) Thompson and her cherished grandchildren Angela, Chris, Colten, Amy, Stephanie, Jacob, Lacee, Mickinzie, Damian, Dominic, Keegen, Josh, Zach & Britni. She was also blessed with 20 great-grandchildren, sharing especially close bonds with Andrew, Anna, Reese, Ariah, Johnny and Landon—each of whom held a cherished place in her heart.

JoAnne is also survived by her beloved nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly.

She is preceded in death by her son Timothy Mills, her parents, brothers Arlo Duensing and Laverne Duensing, sisters Arlene House and Valeria Ashton.

A Memorial Service will be held at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, located at 6800 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday, December 27, 2025, at 3:00 pm.

Inurnment will take place at Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery, located at 6700 South 17th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, on December 29, 2025.