Thelma Rickels

Thelma (Tomi) Rickels passed away peacefully at home in Billings in the early hours of July 20, 2023, surrounded by loving family. She lived an amazing, long and rich life, and was cherished, admired and respected by all who knew her.

Tomi was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1924, the youngest of six children. As a child, she loved sports and took every opportunity to play. As a teenager she won numerous speedskating competitions, while also enjoying her other love – music – in her job as a church pianist. As she neared her 20s, she became known across Canada for her many wins (and some records) in track and field meets, particularly in sprinting, broad jump, and relay.

During World War II, after completing high school in Regina, Tomi joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Following basic training, she became a wireless instructor in Montréal where she remained until the war ended. While she rarely talked about it without her family's prodding, during this time she was also a top track competitor, but the wartime cancellation of the 1944 Olympics meant she didn't get to compete internationally. Nevertheless, in October, 1947, an Alberta newspaper spoke of her as “the most talked about Canadian girl athlete of early war years.”

After the war, Tomi earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health, physical education, and recreation at McGill University in Montréal. While her experiences in sports guided much of her career path, her boldness and sense of adventure did so in equal measure.

While working at the International YMCA in Montréal, Tomi seized an opportunity to participate in a job exchange in England where she spent a year working in the health and education department of the Cadbury factory in England. There she also connected with British relatives and made many life-long friends, several of whom she traveled with in Europe, the West Indies, and Barbados.

Upon returning to Canada, Tomi returned to Regina and worked in the Department of Education, where she also edited Saskatchewan Recreation magazine. From there she received an invitation to return to teach at McGill University in Montréal, and later, another invitation to teach at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she helped start the women's department of health and physical education.

Always active, her career often included coaching, she taught skiing and canoeing in beautiful natural locations, and she served as a lifeguard in her youth.

While teaching in Newfoundland, Tomi earned a Master's degree in health ed and met her future husband, Robert (Bob) Rickels, also pursuing a master's degree, in studio art, at summer school at UM in Missoula.

During their several-year courtship, Tomi resided in the United States, and worked on a PhD in public health education and human ecology at the University of Illinois. In 1965, Bob and Tomi married and settled in Minnesota, where Bob was a professor of art and art education at Concordia College St. Paul.

Tomi then taught at McAllister College until she decided to focus on raising their young son and daughter. Never one to sit on the sidelines, however, she was soon invited to help start a preschool at their church, which she then ran successfully for 17 years.

Over their years together, Bob and Tomi had the pleasure of traveling widely through Europe and the Americas. They both took and led tours, including Elderhostel and Roads Scholar trips. Summers were spent in Montana at the family cabin.

After Tomi and Bob retired, they returned permanently to Montana, to be closer to their East Rosebud cabin, where they could canoe, hike, and backpack and enjoy family and friends. They settled in Billings, sharing a home with their daughter, Kris, and son-in-law, Scott, who converted it to an “open air duplex,” in which kids and parents cared for one another, progressed into ever-older age, and doted on beloved furry family members.

Throughout her life, Tomi enjoyed classical music and fine art, stitchery and knitting, singing alto in choirs, folk dancing and all outdoor recreational activity, especially skiing, hiking, walking, and bicycling.

To her last moments, Tomi had a special fondness for dark chocolate, which her family and friends enjoyed indulging her in daily. This included her “circle” of dear friends from Billings' Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, where she and Bob were long-time members.

Tomi defied so much of what was expected of—and allowed to—women in the era in which she lived. She outran and outcompeted the boys (and girls!); she bravely struck her own path; she was the first in her family to achieve academic degrees and successes; and she was admired by those around her for her charm, integrity, independence, poise, intelligence, determination, and equanimity. Daughter Kris and son Rob continue to marvel lovingly at the woman they were so blessed to have as their outstanding Mother, and to feel the strength of her story – and her character - reverberate in their lives, forever.

Tomi is predeceased by her siblings and parents, and in January of 2022, her husband, Bob, whose loss was always deeply felt. Due to her worsening health conditions, in late 2022, Tomi and her children engaged the excellent home hospice assistance of St. John's United. They are forever grateful for the excellent nursing of Katie Mackenzie, the tender chaplaincy of Elizabeth Ligget, and the musical gifts of volunteer Martha Rowe.

Dr. Chris Ballantine of the Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic attended both Bob and Tomi and was a source of ongoing support, often offering care that often exceeded what was available through conventional medicine, and thereby adding substantially to Tomi's quality of life. Dr. Ballantine also became a dear friend to Tomi and the family, and we are forever grateful for his presence and helpfulness during this time.

Kristi Nolan, a very special family friend, has also been an amazing angel of continuous support and assistance to Bob, Tomi, Scott, and especially Kris, who had the honor of being her mother's (and father's) primary caregiver. Kristi and daughter Marissa Misenhimer, both nurses, gave generously of their love and expertise, their patience and wisdom, and their tender, kind hearts. They were indispensable and beloved companions on our family's caregiving journey.

Tomi is missed deeply by daughter Kris (Scott) Prinzing of Billings, son Rob (Julie) of Johnstown, Colorado, and her treasured Granddog, Ren, and leaves nieces and nephews across Canada and dear friends and former students across the northern hemisphere.

Memorials can be directed to Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd music program or to senior dog care charity Poochz' BnB, both of Billings. A September memorial at Good Shepherd is planned.