Dorothy Irene (Dahlen) Larson
August 6, 1927 – September 23, 2020
Dorothy Irene (Dahlen) Larson, from Rosholt, Wisconsin, peacefully passed away on Sept. 23, 2020. She was 93 years old.
Dorothy was born on Aug. 6, 1927, on the family farmstead, “the farm,” in the township of Alban, Wisconsin, to Fred and Inga Dahlen, who ran a general store in Rosholt.
In 1943, Dorothy met the love of her life, Linford (Lindy) Larson and they were married on Nov. 17, 1945, while he was on leave from the Army. While Lindy served our country in Germany, Dort, as he affectionately called her, joined the war effort by moving to Chicago with her best friend to do factory work at a company called Standard Coil. During this time, she was also employed as a nanny for a family in Evanston, Illinois.
After Dorothy was finally reunited with Lindy, the couple made a rich and abundant life together on the farm, raising their five beloved children, while managing their own dairy enterprise, followed by a small-scale pig operation. During this time, Dorothy also worked at the local IGA store in Rosholt.
Each year, Dorothy and Lindy were the proud proprietors of a vivacious vegetable garden, bountiful blueberry and raspberry patches, along with a small apple orchard. Summers were spent tending to the garden, swimming in nearby lakes with her grandchildren, thrift shopping with her daughters, vacationing up north with family, canning her world-famous dill pickles, or baking one of her delectable desserts for a church function, that is if Lindy didn’t find it first.
Devout in her faith, and blessed with a beautiful singing voice, Dorothy was a member of the church choir, and her love of art, music, and dance was passed on to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Dorothy demonstrated a deep, undying love for her family with everything she did, which included making pounds and pounds of lefse, a plethora of pies fit for mass consumption, and mounds of dinner buns to be promptly devoured by her family each Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Despite the many hardships she endured in this life, her strength and her heart will always serve as a sustaining guide for all who knew her.
Finally, without pain, Dorothy has been eternally reunited with Lindy (who has been waiting rather impatiently for someone to help put his shoes on for the past two years), her darling son Perry, beloved brother Laverne, dear friend Lola Carter, and sweet great-granddaughter Paige Bootz. Dorothy was also preceded in death by her parents and siblings Wilbur and Marjorie. She is survived by her sister Nancy Brenic; four children, Laverne (Terri) and Paul (Marge) Larson, Pam (Ron) Bootz, and Lynn Larson; her 17 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law Margaret Larson and Joan Larson; and favorite cat she lovingly called Puss.
A celebration of Dorothy’s life will occur at a later date. Voie Funeral Home of Iola is assisting the family with arrangements. Dorothy’s family would like to offer a special thanks to the staff at Sylvan Crossings on Evergreen in Wausau for their compassionate care.