Dorothy Emma-Marie Shipman

SHIPMAN, SOLDWISCH, MUELLER, HENDRICKSON, JONES, ROHDE, LOHSE, BUSCHING, LINDNER, WIEGMANN

Posted By: dbeier (email)
Date: 7/21/2010 at 15:26:45

Dorothy Emma-Marie Shipman, 92, of Shell Rock, Iowa, died of natural causes Thursday afternoon, January 29, 2009 at the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community.

She was born on March 18, 1916 on the family farm northwest of Waverly, Iowa, the daughter of Henry and Emma (Soldwisch) Mueller.

Dorothy was baptized at home on March 30, 1916 and later confirmed on March 24, 1929 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Waverly. She attended country school near her home and St. Paul's Parochial School of Waverly from 2nd through the 8th grade. In 1933 she graduated from Waverly High School. On April 18, 1937 Dorothy was united in marriage to Gordon E. Shipman at St. Paul's Lutheran Church.

They made their home on the Shipman family farm two and a half miles southeast of Shell Rock. In 1956 they helped establish Faith Lutheran Church in Shell Rock, becoming longtime, faithful members. Dorothy, along with her husband, worked at the Riviera Ballroom in Janesville for seven years in addition to baking pies and working at the Waverly Sale Barn. For over twenty years she worked in food service at Wartburg College until retiring in 1982. In February of 1974, the couple retired from farming and in 1977 they moved from the farm into their new home in Shell Rock.

Gordon died on July 4, 2000 and Dorothy continued to live in their home until November 17, 2008.
Dorothy and Gordon were charter members of Faith Lutheran Church, where Dorothy was very active in the women's groups of the church as well as serving in the Sunday School program. She served as a 4-H leader for over twenty years and was active with the Farm Bureau Women. She loved cooking, gardening, and had several collections, including thimbles and bells. She was a lady who loved her family and all that life had to offer.

Dorothy is survived by her three daughters, Sandra and Fred Hendrickson of Waverly, Joanne and Lindley (Buck) Jones of San Francisco and Waverly, Kathy and Craig Rohde of West Bend, Wisconsin; four grandchildren, Cindy Hendrickson (Bo Ellison) of Waverly, Jason (Julie) Hendrickson of Waverly, Marc (Keri) Lohse of Liberty Township, Ohio, Thomas Lohse of Laurinburg, North Carolina; five great grandchildren, Jesse and Jordan Hendrickson, and RaeAnna, Tanner and Brayden Lohse.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Gordon; three sisters, Margaret (Martin) Busching, Leona (George) Lindner, Anna (Jack) Wiegmann; and three brothers, Adolph (Mary) Mueller, Martin (Mildred) Mueller and Roland (Mildred) Mueller.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, February 3, 2009, at Faith Lutheran Church, Shell Rock, with Pastor Keith Tomlinson officiating.

Burial will be in the Riverside Cemetery, Shell Rock.

Visitation will be on Monday, February 2, from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at the Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home, Waverly, and also at the church on Tuesday for one hour prior to the services.

Memorials may be directed to the family.