Obituary - Constance B. Woods Thompson

Constance B. Woods Thompson, 98, passed away due to natural causes at Northern Montana Care Center in Havre, MT, October 9, 2020.

Graveside services will take place at the Hillside Cemetery in Conrad at 11:00 a.m. Friday, October 23, 2020.

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements.

Please visit Connie's online memorial page and leave a message of condolence for her family at http://www.hollandbonine.com .

Connie was born January 23, 1992, in the town of London, Ontario, Canada, to George and Alice Schmidt. Later moving with her parents to Detroit, Michigan, where her father was employed, Connie enjoyed spending summers and every moment available with her grandparents in Pembrooke, Ontario. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1947 and married Robert E. Koons on January 22, 1949. The couple adopted two boys, Karl and Paul. Tragically, Robert was killed in an auto accident.

Connie then met and married Vernon E. Woods in October of 1970. They lived on the Woods family farm east of Brady, MT, until Vernon's death in 2004. Connie then moved to Conrad. She was a devout Christian and renewed a friendship with a former pastor of the Knee's church, Rolland Thompson. They were married in 2007. After Rolland died, Connie stayed a few years in Conrad and then moved to the Northern Montana Care Center in Havre to be near her nephews and nieces.

Connie was always a gentle and proper lady. She would wear her "greeting guests" slacks and shoes even while doing garden work miles from town! Her home was always ready and comfortable for guests, she would have interesting books and Biblical materials on a coffee table, and she would always serve a lunch.

Connie's interest in writing stories and poems lead her to open a bookstore in Conrad named The Sign of the Half Mark. She created and wrote a weekly column for the Fort Benton newspaper entitled "Week in the Knees" on the events and happenings in the Knees area.

Connie's enjoyed playing the piano and organ, and dancing. She loved Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with her family and special tea times with her daughter-in-law Linda and niece Charlotte, just to name a few. Connie spent much of her spare time birdwatching and tending her rock garden.

She loved animals, especially Siamese cats, always having a cat or two in her home. Back in the Citizen's Band (CB) era, Vernon's handle was Night Hawk (as he stayed up late) and Connie was Kitty Hawk. She was known as the "cat lady" at the Northern Montana Care Center, and was given several stuffed cats while she was there, which she enjoyed very much.

She was preceded in death by her husbands, Robert Koons, Vernon Woods and Rolland Thompson; son Paul Koons; parents, George and Alice Schmidt; and her younger sister, Joan Bostwick of Michigan.

Connie is survived by her son Karl Koons of Brady; daughter-in-law, Linda Turner of Ballantine; nieces, Gwendolyn Bostwick of Michigan, Sheri (Jack) Potter of Florida, and Karen (Paul) Stout of Havre; nephews, Hugh (Charlotte) Gwynn of Havre and Larry (Danielle) Gwynn of Wyoming, and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.