Shellenberger, Dorothy Ann (1927-2017)

SHELLENBERGER, DINGES, BEISCH, STEENHOEK, JOLLY, EASH, GRAY, MILLER, HOOGESTRAAT

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 2/15/2017 at 21:14:59

Dorothy Shellenberger
November 18, 1927 - January 15, 2017

Dorothy Shellenberger, age 89, of Des Moines, Iowa, formerly of Storm Lake, Iowa, died on Sunday, January 15, 2017, at the Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center in Des Moines.

Dorothy Ann Dinges, a daughter of Joseph and Josephine (Beisch) Dinges, was born on November 18, 1927, in Odebolt, Iowa. Baptized at St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Odebolt, Dorothy attended country school at Clinton #5 in Sac County, Iowa, and then St. Martin’s Catholic School in Odebolt. She graduated from Odebolt High School in 1945.

A humble woman with a heart filled with love, determination, humor, compassion, and acceptance, Dorothy used her gifts to make everyone she loved feel like the most special person in the world. A hardworking woman who never complained, she, still, found time to appreciate the natural world—flowers, animals, and the farm’s beauty—and she captured that beauty through observant photographs. Her appreciation, also, extended to chocolate. Whether she was sharing her candy stash or eating a chocolate donut after Sunday mass, she took delight in simple pleasures. Moreover, her energy seemed endless as she tended her flower garden, hung plaid shirts on the clothesline, nurtured her vegetable garden, cooked and canned, and wrote detailed accounts of her life in her daily diary. She lived her life with remarkable gentleness; her positive demeanor during the most difficult of times will forever serve as an example of grace for her family and those who knew her.

Dorothy, and her husband, Robert Shellenberger, had seven children: Rose Ann (Gene) Steenhoek, of Northfield, Minnesota, Mary (Lewis) Jolly, of Urbandale, Iowa, Frank (Brent) Shellenberger, of Des Moines, Iowa, Laurie (David) Eash, of Solon, Iowa, Ann (William) Gray, of Des Moines, Iowa, Marty Shellenberger, of Nemaha, Iowa, and Karen (Mike) Miller, of Coon Rapids, Iowa; seventeen wonderful grandchildren; and twenty-three adorable great grandchildren.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her loving husband, Robert, and her siblings, Raymond (Bud) Dinges and Frances Hoogestraat.

One lingering memory that many may share: upon leaving after a visit at the farm, Dorothy would stand in the yard with a big smile while waving good-bye.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2017, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake. Burial will follow in the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Early, Iowa, at 1:00 p.m. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake is overseeing the arrangements.

Copyright © 2017, Sliefert Funeral Homes

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