Einspahr, Dorothea Rosaline Dreyer (1923-2022)

EINSPAHR, DREYER, KRAUSE, LORENTZEN, WEST, MUTHER, BOTTORFF, ACHARYA, BURNEY, PHILLIPS, DOHERTY, SHRUM

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 12/23/2022 at 14:21:34

Daily Freeman Journal
Webster City, Iowa
July 25, 2022

Dorothy Einspahr, 99, passed away July 13, 2022 at Wellington Place in Decorah, Iowa.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. on July 29, 2022 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Webster City with the service conducted by Pastor Joseph Pierson. Burial will be at Graceland Cemetery, Webster City. Visitation will precede the service from 9 to 10 a.m.

The service will be livestreamed, accessible at https://www.facebook.com/stpaullutheranchurchwc/

Dorothea Rosaline Dreyer, daughter of Louis J. and Elsa Krause Dreyer, was born on April 16, 1923 and grew up on the farm her grandparents had homesteaded near Fenton, IA. She graduated from Fenton High School in 1940 and attended Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls and Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, IL. In 1948 she came to Webster City where she taught at St. Paul Lutheran School. She met Orval Einspahr at church and they were married on June 20, 1948. They were inseparable, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary just before Orval passed away in 1998. Dorothy was active in both her church and community. When the church day school was closed in 1969, Dorothy and Ruth Buckley started the church’s pre-school, which emphasized Christian education and critical life skills; Dorothy continued to teach pre-school for many years thereafter. Her steadfast faith in her Lord Jesus Christ was both her compass and her anchor during her lifetime. Dorothy excelled at loving her family, and freely gave that love and care to friends, neighbors, and anyone else who needed it.

Dorothy is survived by four children, Elizabeth (Lance) Lorentzen, Mary Ellen (Charles) West, Phillip (Sue) Einspahr, Julie (Tim) Muther, grandchildren Joshua (Katie) Bottorff, Brita Lorentzen, Thomas and Riley Einspahr, Hannah (Bhupen) Acharya, Katrina (Cameron) Burney, and Laura Muther, great-grandchildren Mia, Jack, and Ethan Bottorff, and Caleb Burney, sister-in-law Eileen Dreyer Phillips, and many nieces and nephews.

Dorothy was preceded in death by husband Orval, parents Louis and Elsa Dreyer, sisters Lorena Doherty and Ella Shrum, brothers Ray Dreyer and Harold, and several nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Winneshiek Medical Center Hospice, St. Paul Lutheran Church Missions Fund, Webster City or LCMS Mission Central, Mapleton, Iowa.