Monson, Dorothy E. (Ean) 1915-2010
MONSON, EAN, NEHLS, WOLF
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 11/8/2012 at 10:38:37
Dorothy E. Monson, age 95, died on Saturday evening, October 9, 2010 at Asse Haugen Home in Decorah.
A Celebration of Life memorial will be held Tuesday, Oct. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Decorah Elks Lodge, 402 West Main St., Decorah. Light refreshments will be served.
Private inurnment will be at Phelps Cemetery in Decorah.
Born January 22, 1915 in Ossian, Dorothy was the daughter of Nora Ean and Charles Nehls. She attended Ossian public schools and the Gates Business College in Waterloo. After graduating from Gates she was hired by a building and loan firm, also in Waterloo.
On December 10, 1935 she married Clinton Monson of Decorah. The Rev. Oswald Sandbach conducted the ceremony at the Methodist Church Parsonage in Decorah.
In 1937 as noted by Roz Weis in her current day Decorah Journal column, "Echoes of the Past" as it had been reported in 1937, "'Taking the severe examination for a chauffeur's license, Mrs. Clinton Monson, wife of the auto dealer on West Water Street, passed the test by 100 percent, the best record that any applicant has ever had here....Mrs. Monson can now drive the taxi, truck or any other motor vehicle!" She did, in fact, drive a cab for Clinton for over two years.
Dorothy and Clinton Monson had two children, Marilyn born in 1938 and Meredith born in 1945. In September 1953 Clinton opened the Mechanic St. DX which (for many years) they kept open 24 hours. So, with Clinton there 16-17 hours each day, Dorothy would prepare and bring him his lunch seven days a week and later each day she'd spell him by pumping gas while he walked across to the A&W (later the Family Table) to have his dinner. Her daughter, Marilyn, then in her mid teens, recalls being terribly impressed by seeing her mom pumping gas and washing windshields. Dorothy and Clinton were always and forever in so many ways a true team in every way and to quote her good friend, Dori Frana - "wives and husbands who work together, stay together." For many years Dorothy was actively involved volunteering at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum on many of the museum's mailings. Staff at Vesterheim expressed appreciation for her many hours of service, including more than 85 hours volunteering as recently at 2008. She also spent countless hours volunteering at Aase Haugen (during the last 10 years of Clinton's stay there) when Dori Frana, head of computerization at the home, had taught her how to download and print e-mail for all the patients. She did this from early in 2000 throuth the end of 2007, enjoying being the link that allowed friends and relatives of the patients at Aase to correspond with those patients. Dorothy, an only child, was preceded in death by her parents and by Clinton (they had celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary in December of 2007- he had died in early February of 2008).
She is survived by their two daughters, Marilyn Wolf of New York City and by Meredith Kay Monson of Flagstaff, Ariz.; by one grandaughter, Kristi of Flagstaff; and by three great-grandchildren, Erik, Kayla and Jake.
But during the past two years Dorothy, who for all of her life up to that point had been a very happy, very upbeat person- her high school friend, Olga Wangsness says too "she was always very smart", now began to tell people that what she now wanted most was to "join Clint in heaven". Her fondest wish has now been granted - so do, please remember her, but try not to mourn too much for her because the team of Dorothy and Clint is back together again.
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Phelps Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
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