Elizabeth Denise Thompson

Elizabeth Denise Thompson, 68, died September 27 after a long illness. Her brother Charles and her sister-in- law Sherry were at her side.

Denise was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 6, 1955, to Charles and Betty Anderson. She was baptized and received her First Holy Communion at Saint Matthew's where she attended elementary school. Although she moved to Florida as a teenager, she maintained a deep love for the city of her birth. In one of her last conversations, she spoke fondly of the old days in Charm City.

Upon graduating from Miami Edison High School, Denise attended Florida International University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. A lover of science and numbers, she was a natural for the burgeoning field of computer science. After a stint as a lab technician at Cordis Corporation, she was hired as Chief of Computer Operations at Miami Dade County Department of Environmental Resources, where she worked for many years before retiring almost ten years ago.

An avid sports fan, Denise cheered the Dolphins and Marlins through thick and thin, but always held a special place in her heart for her hometown Baltimore Orioles. She was an avid gardener whose collection of exotic orchids would make Nero Wolfe jealous.

Every Christmas she put up the biggest tree she could find and watched Miracle on 34th Street, even though it made her cry. Denise loved dogs, especially dachshunds, and always owned at least two. Her last days were comforted by her dogs Jack and Bonnie, who are bereft and miss her terribly.

Denise was preceded in death by her husband Don. She is survived by her siblings Rod, Nicole, Daryl, and Charles; her sister-in-law Sherry; and her nieces and nephews Leo, Becky, Owen, Jocelyn, Scott, Eric, Elena and Geena.

The end of Denise's life was difficult, but the end is only a small part of a person's life-and not even the most important part. Though her final days were shadowed, she would want us to remember her from the sunny, happier days, of which there were many.

A private Memorial will take place on October 7. Donations to the Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org would be deeply appreciated by the family.