As her sons sang her favorite hymns with family at her bedside, Elizabeth Bartlett Thompson died peacefully August 6, 2017, at Community Hospice Care Center in Ashland, Kentucky.
She was born November 26, 1928, at George’s Creek (Louisa), Ky., the daughter of the late Roy Peter and Elma Hazel Burchett Bartlett. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sisters Helen Carolyn Bartlett of Xenia, Oh; Anna Eleanor Preston of Ashland, Ky; Ida Mae Pfeiffer of Dayton, Oh; Blanche Bartlett of George’s Creek; and Elma Sue May of Ashland, Ky; and brothers Frederick Lynn Bartlett of Louisa, Ky; Roy Peter Bartlett, Jr. of Louisa, Ky; Charles Hayden Bartlett of Naples, Fl; Simon Maxwell Bartlett of Bradford, Pa; and John Robert Bartlett of Columbus, Oh.
She is survived by daughter Susan Cora Stapleton (Chuck) of Ashland, sons Winfield Scott Thompson (Tomie) of Ashland and Mark Henderson Thompson of Lexington, Ky; grandsons Sean Stapleton and David Stapleton of Lexington, Ky, Colton Thompson of Branson, Mo, and Benjamin Thompson of Ashland, Ky; brother David Harper Bartlett of Louisa, Ky; and many loving nieces, nephews, grandnephews, grandnieces and dear friends.
The sixth of thirteen children, Elsia Elizabeth Bartlett was raised on a large farm at George’s Creek, Kentucky. As a middle daughter, Elizabeth and her mother cooked and kept house for the large family, and this early training laid the foundation for many years happily spent as a homemaker (her “Elizabethan Green Beans” were majestic and inimitable). Never one to slow down, she was bookkeeper and manager for Thompson Brothers Construction for many years. But Elizabeth’s true strength emerged as she went back to school at 47, earning a cosmetology degree and spending many years as a hairdresser. As testament to her fortitude, she learned to swim at 55 facing down a lifelong fear of water, charmingly poignant for that little girl born on a creek.
But surely her biggest joys were her faith and caring for her family, particularly her grandsons. She doted on her children, grandsons, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, neighbors and friends. She loved attending services at Thirteenth Street Baptist Church, where she was a charter member.
Elizabeth will be recalled as a loving and strong woman who served as the gentle matriarch for a large extended family. Her beauty and smile lit up any room she entered, but it is her heart for which she will always be remembered.
Visitation will be held from 6PM – 8PM Thursday, at the Steen Funeral Home-13th Street Chapel in Ashland. Funeral services will be at 1PM, Friday, August 11, 2017, at Steen Funeral Home-13th Street Chapel by Pastor Jim Byrd. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Community Hospice Care Center, Ashland, Kentucky. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.steenfuneralhome.com
