Rae J. Thousand

SIOUX CITY | Rae Rodeen Thousand, 83, of Sioux City passed peacefully into God’s arms on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, after a courageous and feisty battle against a series of strokes that never once dented her spirit.
Services will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m., at Morningside Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home.
Rae Joann or "Rae J.," burst into this world on March 13, 1929, in Sioux City, the first-born child of Ray A. and Mary (Kelley) Rodeen. An avid angler and camper, Rae graduated from East High in 1947 with a bevy of good friends acquired through school activities, Rainbow for Girls and Luther League. She went on to study at Cornell College in Cedar Rapids but not before meeting the love of her life, Charles "Chuck" Thousand, at Lutheran Lakeside Camp in Okoboji. The couple married on Aug. 14, 1948, and eventually settled in Sioux City.
Rae worked briefly as secretary to Morningside College’s president and to its fledgling head football coach, George Allen. Rae's stint in sports later garnered her family an invitation to visit the Los Angeles Rams’ training camp, inspiring a family passion for the NFL team.
Rae embraced motherhood with open arms, and excelled at instilling in each one of her kids a passion for education, plus the drive to overcome any obstacle. She fearlessly taught them to play piano and golf as well as drive a car; performed brilliantly as their Den Mother or Girl Scout Leader; championed them in all their scholastic, athletic and musical endeavors; and baked enough delta bars, brownies and chocolate chip cookies to take the sting out of any scraped knee or wounded ego.
Rae’s own love of learning bloomed into a voyage of culinary curiosity and later, into tours around the world. But, what few people knew, was just how gifted and prolific an artist Rae was with charcoal pencils and paint. As grandchildren began to spice up her life, Rae also took immeasurable pleasure in crafting everything from intricate ornaments and toys, to embroidered murals and art.
As a woman, a wife, a mother and more, Rae truly lived her life well. She was active in Eastern Star and PEO, and served on the council of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church for many years. When she retired with Chuck to Rancho Mirage, Calif., Rae’s love of golf led to a 20-year avocation as course volunteer for the LPGA Dinah Shore Championship Tournament at Mission Hills Country Club.
Like the champion she was, Rae battled back against the first stroke she suffered in 1999. Rae rallied so well, she even got her golf swing back and shot a hole-in-one. Her greatest source of pride, however, always and forever, lay in the family she cherished and loved.
Rae leaves behind her husband of 64 years, Charles; her four children, Greg (Judy), Luanne, Ray and Richard (Elaine); nine grandchildren, Corey (Jen) , Stacey (Matt), Kyle, Cris (Bo), Tina, Matt, Teresa (Jon), Christopher and Alex; 10 great-grandchildren, Chastity, Sadie, Chandler, Ryan, Luke, Evan, Ava, Skylar, Jonathan and Noah; her brother, James Rodeen of Colorado Springs, Colo.; her sister-in-law, Dorothea Thousand of Newport Beach, Calif.; cousins, nieces and nephews; and treasured caretaker, Krystal White.
Rae was preceded in death by her parents; her two brothers-in-law, John and Walter Thousand; and her sister-in-law, Connie (Cole) Rodeen.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be directed to Hospice of Siouxland.