Eide, Dorothy Jeanette (Stenhaug) -- 1935 - 1998

JOHANSON, STENHAUG, EIDE, BIRD, LECLERE, HEUSER

Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 6/7/2010 at 19:23:00

Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1998

Dorothy Eide

Dorothy Jeanette Eide, 63, of Decorah, died Saturday, Dec. 19, 1998, at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minn.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 11 a.m., at Decorah Lutheran Church, with the Revs. James Glesne, Tim Tostengard and Ole Winter officiating. Visitation will be held at the church Tuesday after 10 a.m.

Diane Kvamme will be the organist and soloist Arlene Foltz will be singing "Pie Jesu." The congregation will sing "My Faith Looks Up to Thee," "O Love that Will Not Let Me Go" and "O Jesus, I Have Promised."

Casket bearers will be Lorraine Borowski, Ken Eide, Randy Heuser, John Hoblit, Vicky Rathje and Wally Sersland. Honorary bearers will be Eric Heuser and Lee Hollar.

Burial will be at the Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah. The Fjelstul Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Dorothy (Stenhaug) Eide was born Dec. 7, 1935, in Chicago, the daughter of Erling and Valborg (Johanson) Stenhaug. She was baptized April 4, 1943, and confirmed June 5, 1949, both at Bethel Lutheran Church in Chicago.

She graduated from Kelvyn Park High School in Chicago in 1953. Then she attended Wright Junior College in Chicago.

Dorothy was united in marriage with Gordon Stanley Eide April 20, 1957, at First Lutheran Church in Decorah. They lived in Monona, Oelwein and Decorah.

She worked at Interstate Power Co. in Decorah and at Northwestern Bell Co. in Decorah. She worked at the Monona Billboard newspapers. While in Oelwein, Dorothy worked at Big Bear and at Dr. Keith Valesh, D.D.S. Then, in Decorah, she worked at Drs. Juffer, Meehan, Leeper and Schwartz, and also was employed at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

Dorothy was the public representative to the Medical Assistance Advisory Council, appointed by the governor of Iowa, from 1984-98.

She was quite active in politics and the Republic Party. Statewide, Dorothy held several positions with the Iowa Federation of Republican Women. Also involved at the district and county level, she was chair of the Fayette County Republican Party for five years.

Dorothy was active with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. She was a vacation Bible School director in Monona, and also received the Outstanding Woman of the Year Award from the Jaycees in Monona in 1970.

In Oelwein, Dorothy was involved in the American Field Service Student Exchange. In Decorah, activities included Luther College Woman's Club, and both employment and volunteer work at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

Church membership included St. Paul Lutheran in Monona, Zion Lutheran in Oelwein and Decorah Lutheran in Decorah. In both Monona and Oelwein, Dorothy was an A.L.C.W. member, held various offices and was a choir member. At Decorah Lutheran, she was active in choir, Council and the Stewardship Committee.

For hobbies, Dorothy worked on hardanger and genealogy research. She enjoyed traveling and was quite involved in community activities.

Survivors include two daughters, Beth and Gordon Bird of Burnsville, Minn., and Judy LeClere of Rockford, Illinois; two sons, Keith Eide of Grayslake, III., and Greg and Beth Eide of Decorah; four grandchildren, Brian and Lindsay Bird, and Gabriel and McKinley Eide; one sister, JoAnne and Jack Heuser of Blue Island, Illinois; her mother-in-law, Emma Eide of Decorah; and several nieces and nephews.

Dorothy Eide was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Gordon, who died Oct. 27, 1998; and by one brother, Don Stenhaug.

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.