Myrtle Irene Thompson

Myrtle Irene Thompson passed away on February 18, 2025, just a day short of her 96th birthday.

She was born in Wayne, Michigan, the daughter of Christina Ross McLeod and Ercil Joseph Crider, Sr.

Both her parents were killed in tragic incidents by the time she was four years old and her twin siblings were only three years old.  The three children were put in the care of their grandparents, David Presley Crider, and Martha Elizabeth (Boyd) Crider, and lived on their farm in Caldwell County Kentucky.

Always on the honor roll, and a tutor in Algebra and Geometry, Myrtle graduated high school second in her class.  She enjoyed music, taking trumpet, piano, and voice lessons.

Through friends, Myrtle met her husband, John Robert Grossman in Kentucky on a double date when he was visiting from Michigan.  She moved to Detroit where they were married November 22, 1950. Together they had three children; Patricia, Michael, and Karen.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck the family in February 1967 when her husband was killed in a fire in Montgomery, Alabama, leaving her to raise the three children on her own.

Throughout her life, Myrtle was fully engaged with her family.  She had the home that all the kids came to.  She was a cub scout den mother, an active singer and dancer, and an accomplished seamstress. Many will remember the Barbie doll clothes that she made with love.  She also pursued additional hobbies later in life, including golf and bridge. She was in a women’s gold league until the age of 93.

Through her participation in ballroom dancing, she met Arden Thompson and was married to him for nine years.

After moving to Arizona to be with her children in 1984, she met John Ashley at a ballroom dancing class in 1995. John and Myrtle volunteered for over 10 years donating food monthly to the local food bank and helping out with various volunteer projects.  They maintained a close relationship for nearly 20 years until his death. Both the Thompson and the Ashley families adopted her as their own. She remained close to both families.

In 1991 she became a grandmother to Karen’s son Kyle. He was her world as she would say most every day.  Myrtle was devoted to going above and beyond in her role as “grandma”.  Whether they were golfing, baking, or just spending time together, making lasting memories was important to her.

She was diagnosed twice in her life with terminal cancer, but both times (2002, 2025) beat the cancer and ended up cancer free.  It only made her stronger, so at the age of 78, she returned to college to earn her CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) degree so that she could give back and help those that helped her through her first cancer.

Myrtle was a strong, loving, generous, intelligent woman, and to know her was to love her.  Her laugh was infectious, her smile contagious.  She brightened up the room with her beauty, both inside and out.  She called herself “farm tough”, we called her mom.

This lovely lady was beloved by all, and the light that she shined on the world will be sorely missed.

Myrtle is survived by her daughter Patricia (Grossman) Solo and her husband, Randy Solo, her son Michael Grossman and his significant other, Jennifer Mayol, her daughter Karen (Grossman) Williams and her husband Kurt J Williams and her grandson, Kyle Williams.  Her step grandsons Steven Thompson and Michael Thompson. Nephew Dan Blake and nieces Julie Hyde and Barb McCarty. Her first cousins Phyllis Ballew and Karen Parrent.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Stone and Vine, 1035 W Queen Creek Rd, Chandler, Az, on April 18, 2025, from 12:30-3:00 pm.