POCATELLO — Jessie Kelley said her parents, John and Carolyn Thompson, epitomized true love.

John and Carolyn passed away within 72 hours of each other last week after nearly 60 years of marriage. The couple’s legacy includes seven children, 18 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. All of their children’s names begin with the letter J.

Some of the children got together Thursday at their parent’s home on Shasta Drive in Pocatello to reminisce and reflect on their loss.

John and Carolyn had resided in the home for 30 years.

Their daughter Jacqueline Thompson said she found great comfort knowing that her parents passed away together.

The couple spent their final days the same way they had spent the past 60 years — side by side.

“They always said they wanted to go together,” Jacqueline said. “They had hospital beds next to each other, and they held hands through the rail.”

Jacqueline said John’s health had been failing for some time. He passed away April 28, and Carolyn, who had cancer and dementia, followed on May 2.

Jason Thompson said both of his parents were funny, but he said his dad was also a renowned story teller.

“But sometimes he embellished,” Jason said.

Jason recalled when he and his older brother James Thompson burned down the family’s barn outside of Downey.

“My mom said, ‘I’ll bet you a nickel that you two did it,’” Jason said. “Then she looked me in the eye, and I started crying.”

After being reminded that he and his brother did exactly the same thing when they were children, John’s heart softened.

“My mom asked him what he was going to do about it, and my dad said, ‘I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it,” Jason said.

Jessie said her dad had a habit of picking up hitchhikers, and on their honeymoon in 1956, John picked up a hitchhiker on the way to Las Vegas who also helped him drive.

“My mom said she was sleeping in the back seat, and these two men are driving down the road in 1956 with 'Just Married,' plastered all over their car,” Jessie said.

When the family lived in the Downey area, John often picked up stranded motorists and brought them home for a meal before driving them to Pocatello.

Jordan, their youngest, recalled a day when he made his mother swear at him, and he said Carolyn was so embarrassed by her outburst that she spent the rest of the day in her bedroom.

Jordan’s wife, Courtney, called her mother-in-law patient and kind.

“She lived with chronic pain, but it never changed her character,” Courtney said. “She always cared more about other people than she did about herself.”

Courtney said her in-laws welcomed her into their family immediately.

Jessie’s husband, Cliff Kelley, agreed, and he said he became part of the family as soon as he was introduced to John and Carolyn.

“In fact, we had been dating for a while when John bought Jessie a car," CLiff said. "I don’t think I had even proposed yet, and he titled the car in both of our names.”

Cliff said that when his grandmother passed away last month, Carolyn was quick with a hug and condolences.

Courtney said her mother-in-law’s most frequently used phrase was “Oh, John.”

John was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and he served as a Morse code operator stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska.

A self-proclaimed “jack-of-all-trades,” John worked as a farmer and rancher, mechanic, police officer, fire department dispatcher, general laborer and lab technician.

He also taught seminary to a class of disabled students at Highland High School, a calling he truly loved.

John returned to college at Idaho State University and studied theater. A gifted writer and an exceptional character actor, he was active in community theater and appeared in two Hollywood films: “To Hell and Back” and “Ride, Vaquero.”

Carolyn graduated from Juab High School in in Nephi, Utah, in 1955 and attended Utah State in Logan. She worked at ISU for two decades while raising her family.

“She was smart and witty, but she didn’t really think that she was smart,” Jacqueline said. “Dad was always too smart for his own good.”

With his well-groomed white beard, Jacqueline said children often asked her dad if he was the real Santa Claus, and of course, John told them that he was.

“One little kid asked where his red suit was, and dad said he was on vacation. Then the little kid looked at my mom who had jet black hair and said, ‘Well that doesn’t look like Mrs. Claus,’” Jacqueline said.

Jessie said her mother was a great cook, and during her tenure at ISU, she always invited someone who was alone home for holidays.

“She was disgusted by racism,” Jessie said. “I remember one year she invited this Muslim lady for Thanksgiving. She was born in Somalia, and her family was murdered in Egypt.”

All of their children said the biggest lesson they learned from their parents was commitment and fortitude.

“You just don’t give up — you weather the storms,” Jessie said.

John spent 10 days in the hospital this year with pneumonia, and Carolyn expressed her hope and her desire to her daughter.

“My mom said, ‘Maybe (John and I) could just stop living together and go to heaven holding hands,’” Jessie said.

And the family believes that’s exactly what they did: “They earned the right to go to heaven,” Jessie said.

There will be a viewing from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the LDS church at 2000 South Fairway in Pocatello. Funeral services are set for Saturday at 11 a.m. at the same location with a viewing one hour prior.

Funeral services are under the direction of Downard Funeral Home, and condolences can be made online at downardfuneralhome.com.