Denyse Thompson, a devoted mother, grandmother, sister, healer, and artist, was welcomed peacefully into God’s kingdom on July 7, 2026. She was 72 years old.

Born on September 18, 1953, Denyse was the daughter of John Collette and Muriel Leger. She grew up as one of eight children and remained deeply connected to the brothers and sisters who shared her earliest years.

Denyse attended McGill University in Montreal. During that time, she met John Thompson through an unlikely but fortunate connection: Denyse’s college roommate was dating John’s college roommate. John attended Wesleyan University, and that friendship between their roommates brought Denyse and John into one another’s lives. They later married, and John became the father of her two sons.

In 1977, Denyse left the familiarity of home and came to the United States. She and John first lived with his parents in Omaha, Nebraska, before eventually making their home in Denver, Colorado. Together, they began building a life and family far from the place where Denyse had been raised.

Denyse became a physical therapist, a profession well suited to her patience, intelligence, and instinct to care for others. Yet the most consequential work of her life took place beyond any workplace. It was found in the daily, often unseen sacrifices she made for her sons, Aaron and Andrew.

For much of their childhood, Denyse raised her sons as a single mother. Her life was not easy. She carried burdens that few people fully saw, endured years of hardship, and often placed her own needs behind those of her children. She lived quietly, without seeking recognition or praise, and devoted herself to giving Aaron and Andrew every opportunity she could provide.

She taught them that education could open doors and change the direction of a life. She taught them to treat others with civility, dignity, and kindness. She wanted her sons not merely to succeed, but to become thoughtful, responsible, and contributing members of society. Their accomplishments brought her immeasurable joy.

Denyse did not measure her life by public recognition. She measured it through her children’s well-being, the lives they built, and the knowledge that they had become people who could make the world better. Much of what Aaron and Andrew achieved was made possible by a mother who refused to give up on them, even during the seasons when life gave her every reason to surrender.

Her creativity offered both refuge and joy. Denyse was a prolific quilter and cross-stitch artist who created beauty slowly, carefully, and patiently. Through fabric, thread, color, and pattern, she made pieces that carried something of herself within them. Her work was more than decoration. It was an expression of love, perseverance, and the ability to transform ordinary materials into something lasting.

The quilts and artwork she leaves behind will remain with her family as tangible reminders of her hands, her imagination, and her spirit. Long after her passing, those pieces will continue to provide warmth and comfort. They will tell future generations that Denyse was here, that she created, that she loved, and that beauty could emerge even from a life marked by struggle.

Denyse was predeceased by her husband, John Thompson, who died in 2015. She is survived by her sons, Aaron and Andrew; three grandchildren; seven brothers and sisters; and the extended family who loved her and will continue to carry her memory forward.

After a long illness, Denyse remained a monumental force who fought courageously until the end. In her final moments, she was calm and peaceful. Her son Aaron was beside her, holding her hand and gently stroking her hair as she passed. She left this world knowing that she was not alone and that she was deeply loved.

Denyse’s life was filled with challenges, many of which she carried privately. Yet hardship did not have the final word. Through sacrifice, she created opportunity. Through perseverance, she created stability. Through her art, she created beauty. Through her sons and grandchildren, she created a legacy.

There are people whose contributions are easy to overlook because their greatest work happens quietly, within homes and families. Denyse was one of those people. She did not live for attention or applause. She lived to ensure that her children had what they needed to build meaningful lives. She gave them everything she could, and often more than she could easily afford to give.

She leaves the world better than she found it. Her influence lives on in the values she taught, the family she nurtured, the artwork she created, and the lives made possible through her sacrifice.

Denyse will be dearly missed, but her family takes comfort in knowing that her long struggle has ended. She is finally at peace, reunited with those who went before her and resting in the presence of God.

She was loved dearly in this life, and she will be remembered with gratitude, tenderness, and enduring love.