Jean Thompson, age 80, passed away peacefully in Bellevue, Washington on April 15, 2013. Her adventurous life began March 1, 1933 in Pontiac, Illinois. A few years later Jean's parents, Bruce and Clara McCormack, packed up the family and moved to Roseburg, Oregon where her father supported the family ranching and logging. She spent much of her childhood helping her father and younger brother, Grant, work the farm and ranch. By the age of twelve she was breaking horses. Her family fostered a love for books and reading as well as a love for the wild mountains. As a teenager she either had her nose in a book, or she was exploring the back woods of Oregon on her horse.

Naturally, a young forester by the name of Richard Thompson captured her heart and they married in Reno, Nevada in 1957. Richard worked for the Bureau of Land Management and Jean had a busy life living in various western states while raising two children, Clint and Janis. She never lost her love for reading and early in their marriage she worked for the Douglas County Library. She began writing seriously once her two children were school-aged. By this time the couple had lived in Washington DC, California, Idaho and Alaska.

Experiences from her travels and from being a mother inspired Jean to persistently write. After many attempts and rejections from publishers, The Canby Herald reported in 1975 that Jean Thompson had published her first book, I'm Going To Run Away. This picture book was based on her son, who at the age of four, decided he didn't like his mother telling him what to do. He decided to go find another family. Jean's first success led to others and she published numerous poems and short stories in magazines. She found a niche in the juvenile market and published other books including: Brother of the Wolves, Don't Forget Michael, and Ghost Horse of the Palisades. Her life in Oregon always held a special place in her heart and for ten years she worked on a novel to capture rural life in a logging town. She broke into the adult novel market with Uphill All the Way. Jean believed that writers should support and connect with each other. For twenty years she actively organized conferences with the Society of Children Book Writers. She also organized critique groups to help unpublished writers. Once when she was asked to give advice to new writers, she replied, "just keep at it and at it."