The title is taken from an article in the Febuary 26th, 1966 edition of the Church News. The article was written by Dorothy O. Rea on pg 5. In her article Dorothy discussed a little of Janie’s life and how she always strives to broaden her horizons. Quoting the article, “When Jane strolled down country lanes on her way to elementary school in Malta, Idaho, her imagination would take her soaring beyond the confines of the Raft River and the surrounding mountains and valleys. She would make up a song or a dance. Sometimes, she would pretend she was a great star on stage, receiving the applause of thousands.
There were two reasons her dreams seemed unattainable. Jane had stagefright. Malta was a very small town, far removed from the bright lights of show business.”
After she graduated from High school she attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. This was a big change after graduating from a class of 20 people.
“After graduation from BYU, her course led her to help lift people from the doldrums of post-World War II.” She then went on to organize programs at BYU such as the Lamanite Generation and the Young Ambassadors which were forerunners of BYU’s present Entertainment Division.
Some things that Janie is known for are:
- WORLD CLASS ENTERTAINER
- A LEGEND IN HER OWN RIGHT
- “MISS ENTERTAINMENT”
- ‘Kiwanis International Ambassador’
- “The piano heard around the world!”
- All the world is a stage – The Grand Lady of Show Business
- City of Provo designated 14 Nov 1968, as “Janie Thompson Day”!
- ‘Citizen of the Year, 1992!’ Janie Thompson Scholarship named after her
Janie Thompson has touched the lives of too many people to count. To show our appriciation we can donate to the Janie Thompson Scholarship fund.