John Geido Vernon Thorson

John Geido Vernon Thorson was born on April 30, 1919 to Alf Gautefold and Ingre Marie Volstad Thorson in Mount Valley Township in Winnebago County, IA. He grew up in Iowa. After graduating from high school, John attended the Iowa State Teachers College for 3 months and worked for various farmers. John served in the United States Army from 1941-1945. During this time he was at Omaha Beach on D-Day and he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. John was in the archival footage from WWII that was in the movie "Band of Brothers". John married Moya Rose Chalmers in July of 1945 in England, they were married for 32 years. John worked in sales for a seed corn dealership, owned a sporting goods store and was a greeter at Walmart. He represented Walmart at the dedication of the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC. John loved athletics and pitched on a softball team and is in the Minnesota Fastpitch Softball Hall of Fame. John was an avid Viking and Iowa Hawkeyes fan. Survivors include his children, Karen Robert Reed of Woodside, CA, LaVonne Bruce Bushkofsky of St. Cloud, MN, Lee Thorson of Forest City, IA, Shelley Howard Singer of Scottsdale, AZ; grandchildren Ryan Reed, Kimberly Gerdes, Heather Zabel, Jason Reed, Cory Thorson, Justin Bushkofsky, Tara Bushkofsky, Ashley Singer, Austin Singer, and Madison Singer; great-grandchildren, Karissa Gerdes, Skylar Martin, Cade Gerdes, Hudson Zabel, Brinkley Zabel, and Preston Maile; many nieces and nephews. John was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Mabel Theodora and Alpha; brothers, Herman, twins, Marvin and Marvel, Harold and another brother, Herman in infancy.