PRIMUS, Dorothy 1914-1998

PRIMUS, BARR, ANDREWS

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 2/21/2014 at 10:42:42

Dorothy Primus Services Thurs.

Dorothy Primus, 84, of Wellsburg, passed away on Monday, February 16, at the Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo of natural causes.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, February 19, at the First Christian Reformed Church in Wellsburg with burial to follow in the church cemetery. A memorial fund has been established.

Dorothy was born on January 5, 1914, the daughter of Samuel B. and Grace Andrews Barr at her parents home east of Oskaloosa. When a small child she moved with her family to the Garwin-Gladbrook area where she grew to young womanhood. The family moved to Marshalltown in 1927 and she became a member of the Central Christian Church. From the first she took her place in the work of Christian Endeavor, church choirs, served as Sunday School teacher, and faithfully attended worship services.

Following graduation from Marshalltown High School with the class of 1931, she became involved full time with the state organization of the Iowa Christian Endeavor Union. She traveled over the state of Iowa speaking for Christian Endeavor conventions, state, county and district meeting from 1931 to 1936 and continued to work for the organization until 1943 when she left for California.

On June 14, 1936, she was united in marriage to Marion B. Primus at the Central Christian Church in Marshalltown. They were privileged to celebrate 42 years of marriage.

While living at Creston, where Marion was teaching, she attended and graduated from the college there. She worked nearly three years in the Field Director's offices of American Red Cross at Camp Roberts and Fort Ord in California. For her faithful work with Red Cross she received a special award and certificate of commendation for service over and beyond the call of duty from the then president, Harry S. Truman.

They lived in Sully where Marion was principal of Sully Christian School. During this time Dorothy gave music lessons as well as directing the music for the Christian School.

They moved to Wellsburg in 1950 and have made their permanent home there for the past forty-eight years. However, they have not always lived here, spending years in Cleveland, Ohio. During summers they would go to Gransville, Maryland, where they were workers in the mountain program of Penn Alps and the Highland Association. With her late husband, Marion, she conducted Bible Schools in abandoned country schools in the mountains.

In 1977, she wrote the book "Dear Ones" which is the true story of pioneer life from 1880 to 1890 as told by Helen Primus, mother of Marion. This copyrighted book has been widely read and enjoyed. She wrote a number of articles from publication in the magazine "Casselman Chronicles" of western Pennsylvania.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Marion in 1979; her parents; 1 infant brother; and 1 great-nephew, Justin Capers.

She is survived by 1 sister, Mrs. Kathleen Barr Heffner of Grinnell; a number of nieces and nephews; and many, many friends.

--newspaper clipping, source unknown