Item Detail
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Thompson, Jane "Janie"
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1921-2013
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MSS SC 2967
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Autobiography
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Jane Janie Thompson was born in Malta, Idaho on August 20, 1921 to Henry and Lora Harmon Thompson, the first of seven children. She and her siblings all grew up musically talented, all of them playing instruments and singing. After graduating from Raft River High School, Janie began attending Brigham Young University in 1939. She graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. After World War II ended, Janie entered a competition in San Francisco which sent her to Europe as a Civilian Actress Technician to entertain the Army of Occupation and help keep up their morale. She performed with big band names like Tony Bennett. After two years, Janie returned home in 1947 and joined the Ike Carpenter band, performing in Los Angeles, California. She sang with them for two years until her voice gave out in 1949, so she taught music for a year. In 1950, Janie decided to go on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was called to the British Mission where she labored for 18 months in Wales. Janie was soon called and offered a job at BYU to be the director of the Student Program Bureau where she created the Young Ambassadors and many other programs for students to perform. In 1954, Janie was called to join the General Board of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association where she served for 16 years. In the 1970s, BYU disbanded the Student Program Bureau and the programs which Janie ran were absorbed into academic departments. Janie continued to work with the Lamanite Generation group (later known as Living Legends) until 1984 when she retired. Janie continued to perform in various concerts and reunions with her students until she died on June 1, 2013 in Provo, Utah.
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This folder contains a typed sketch of Jane Thompsons life written by herself. The autobiography is broken up into sections of her life and topics relevant to her. The sections are titled: Malta, Idaho; Brigham Young University; Big-Band-Singer; Missionary to Wales; BYU Program Bureau- One Surprise After Another!; General Board of the YWMIA (Young Womens Mutual Improvement Association); Traveling to Stake Conference with General Authorities; New York, New York- A Little Peace-and-quiet after Provo; Romance- Whats that?; Back to BYU; Meeting Mother Teresa in India; No More Program Bureau; Many of My Students Became Successful Professional Performers; The World is Our Campus; General Authorities Go With Our Shows to Areas Difficult to Enter Freely Such as Communist Countries; Retired- Sort of (1984); The Greatest Award of All. Jane writes about various well-known individuals she met, her students, her testimony of her faith, and events which populated her life including why she never married.