Born - December 26, 1921 - Botna, Iowa
Died - January 22, 2006 - Harlan, Iowa
PRAYER SERVICE Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 7:00 P.M. Pauley Jones Funeral Home - Harlan, Iowa
FUNERAL SERVICE Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 10:30 A.M. Pauley Jones Funeral Home - Harlan, Iowa
CLERGY Pastor Dave Swinton
ACCOMPANIST Dorothy Norgaard
VOCALIST Lee Nelson
CASKET BEARERS: Neil Hansen, Michelle Leinen, Kris Melcher, Mark Schmitz, Tammy Lynam, Brent Hansen, Jeanne Hansen, Kevin Hansen, Becky Schmitz
INTERMENT Harlan Cemetery - Harlan, Iowa

An invitation is extended to the relatives and friends to meet with the family in the Harlan United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall at the close of the committal service.

Raymond I. Thomsen
Raymond Ivan Thomsen, the son of Louie John and Alma (Gruhn) Thomsen, was born on December 26, 1921, on a farm near Botna, Iowa in Crawford County. He attended school at Manning, Iowa, and grew to adulthood on the family farm.

On September 20, 1942, Raymond was united in marriage to Fern Doonan at Monroe Methodist Church in rural Shelby County, Iowa. Three children were born to this union: Judy, Dennis, and Beverly. After their marriage, the couple farmed in Monroe and Jackson Township. They raised AKC dogs, including St. Bernards and West Highland Terriers. In 1993, Fern became a resident of the Elm Crest Retirement Community in Harlan, Iowa. She died on September 1, 2003.

Raymond and Fern enjoyed camping in Minnesota and at Prairie Rose State Park. Raymond was a serious person who understood his role as a farmer. His legacy to his family and friends was his work ethic and his lifetime of devotion to his wife, Fern, as a husband and as a caregiver.

Raymond became a resident of the Elm Crest Retirement Community in Harlan in 1999, and it was there that he died on Sunday, January 22, 2006, having attained the age of eighty-four years and twenty-seven days. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Fern.

Survivors include his children: Judy and her husband, Gary Hansen, Dennis Thomsen and his wife, Janet and Beverly and her husband, Tom Schmitz all of Harlan, Iowa; nine grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; sisters and brother: Doraine Wigg, Marvel Jacobsen, and Roger Thomsen and his wife, Pat all of Harlan, Iowa; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.