Grace Diane Vandusen

Grace Diane VanDusen died Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at her home in Lakeland at the age of 94. Diane was born on May 20, 1930, in New York, NY, to Rolfe Hubert and Sarah Alice Van Dusen and spent her early childhood in Flushing and Sag Harbor, NY. When Diane was eleven, the family moved to Tampa and, later, Winter Haven, where Diane graduated from high school, met her future husband, Edwin Alexander Thompson, and enjoyed many years of waterskiing and modeling at Cypress Gardens. Diane graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida State University, where she studied art, art history, and philosophy. She and Edwin married in 1959 and embarked on an interesting life together, growing citrus, breeding cattle, and raising four children in the country at Surveyors Lake. Along the way, Diane enjoyed collecting art (and taking her children to museums—sometimes against their will), patronizing the symphony (accompanied by her children, whether they liked it or not), and travel (everyone was on board with that). Diane used her creative energy throughout her life, from constructing ingenious booths at the Alturas Halloween Carnival, to set and costume design (and a turn as a snappily dressed Dragon) for Bartow Junior Service League plays performed at schools around Polk County, and elegant fundraising events at the Polk Museum of Art (now the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art), where she was a docent for many years. Diane traveled extensively on art history tours with the Art History Department of Florida Southern College. She was a voracious reader and loved the beauty and nature that came with living on lakes throughout her life.Diane was preceded in death by her husband, Edwin Thompson. She is survived by her daughter, Kristin Thompson (and husband Richard Gibson), of Glasgow, Scotland, three sons, Alex Thompson (and wife Karen) of Virginia Beach, VA, Rolfe Thompson (and wife Laurel) of Tampa, and Doug Thompson (and wife Lisa) of Bartow, as well as grand- and great-grandchildren Quincy, Lonnie, Collins, Harrison (and wife Valentina), Sarah, Laura, and Mason.A private family interment will be held at Oaklawn Cemetery, Plant City. Donations in Diane’s name may be made to The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College, 800 E. Palmetto St., Lakeland, FL 33801, agbmuseum.org/donate, or to your favorite charity. Condolences to family at www.whiddenmcleanfuneralhome.com