Roorda, Dorothy Ann (Lawrence) 1929-2015

LAWRENCE, ROORDA, NILES, JOHNSON, BISHOP, NICHOLSON, MAI, MONTGOMERY

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 3/30/2015 at 21:13:15

Dorothy Ann (Lawrence) Roorda was born on December 4, 1929 near Craig, Missouri to Gertrude Nies Lawrence and Ralph Waldo Lawrence. She died March 28, 2015. She was 85 years old.
Dorothy grew up on the Lawrence family farm and graduated from Fairfax (Missouri) High School in 1947. She went on to study Home Economics at Iowa State University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1951. While attending ISU she met her future husband Norman Roorda at Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames. Dorothy and Norman were married on September 5, 1950. After Norman entered the Army in November 1950, Dorothy finished her degree and moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri until Norman was deployed to Korea. Dorothy lived and worked in Des Moines, then moved home to rural Craig, and worked at the Fairfax hospital until Norman returned.

Dorothy and Norman farmed and made a home together near Monroe, Iowa from 1952 until 2006 when they moved to Pella. In 2007 Dorothy and Norman moved to Madrid.

Dorothy was active in the Presbyterian Church in Newton and then Monroe and was the first woman ordained as Ruling Elder in the Newton United Presbyterian Church. She was also active in Jasper County Farm Bureau Women and served as a 4-H leader.

Dorothy was devoted to her family and was a patient, loving, caring mother and grandmother. She wore out volumes of Winnie the Pooh and Richard Scarry books reading to her children and grandchildren.

Dorothy is survived by her six children and their spouses: Bruce and Janis Roorda, Craig, MO; Becky Roorda and Dave Johnson, Madrid, IA; Marilyn and Dan Bishop, Portland, OR; Doug and Esther Roorda, Pella, IA; Nancy and Harvey Nicholson, Chiang Mai, Thailand; Dirk and Astaire Roorda, Rockwall, TX. She is also survived by her older brother, H.B. Lawrence of Craig, MO; and grandchildren and great grandchildren: Matthew Bishop; Isaac and Katie Roorda, Emma and Lydia; Wilson and Lindsey Roorda; Hannah and Zach Montgomery; Sarah Roorda, Joseph Roorda, Dora Roorda; Peter Nicholson, Andrew Nicholson, and James Nicholson; Adele Roorda, Jaqueline Roorda, and Eva Roorda; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Norman in 2012, by her parents, and by daughter-in-law Gail Ryan Roorda.

Dorothy is remembered with much love and affection by her family. Dorothy was cared for in her final years and days with love, compassion, dignity, and attentiveness to her individual needs by the staff of the Madrid Home. The family will be forever grateful.

Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. at Sanborn Chapel, Madrid Home, 613 W. North Street, Madrid, IA. Memorials may be sent to the Madrid Home or the Monroe Presbyterian Church, 113 S Main Street, Monroe, IA. ~ The Coburn Funeral Home, Colfax, Iowa 28 Mar 2015.