Dorothy Anna Anderson

Funeral services for Dorothy Anna Anderson, age 86, of Foley, will be held Friday, October 5, 2012 at 11 AM at Bethany Lutheran Church in Ramey, MN with Rev. Greg Tomhave officiating. Providing music for the service will be Kathy Talberg. Casketbearers will be William Benson, Jim Meyer, Steven Johnson, Randal Rice, Chris Rice, and Jere Rice. Interment will take place in the Forest Hill Cemetery near Milaca. Visitation will be from 5 – 8 PM Thursday at the Peterson-Johnson Funeral Home in Milaca. Dorothy Anna Anderson was born October 6, 1925 in Bogus Brook Township, Mille Lacs County, to Stephen and Minnie (Bartz) Rice. She was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Bogus Brook by Rev. Otto Strauch on November 23, 1925. She attended District 3 North Country School for the first three grades, the Minks School for a few years, District 3 East School, and Princeton High School. She was confirmed at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Princeton on March 17, 1940 by Rev. William Tinge. After her family moved to Milaca in 1942, she graduated from Milaca High School in 1944. She did housework and cared for small children of school teachers until 1949, when she married Gunnar Anderson of Hillman on August 27, 1949 at Zion Lutheran Church of Milaca by Rev. Carl H. Olson. They took over his mother’s farm in September of 1949, after his father passed away. Dorothy worked side by side with the farm work until his battle with cancer in 1984, and cared for him until his passing on June 9, 1987. She was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Ramey since their marriage. She was active in the choir, teaching Vacation Bible School with her love for children, secretary on the church board for two terms, lector, Ladies Aide, and LWML, delegate to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Home of Sauk Rapids, delegate for her political party in Morrison County, and election judge for Lakin Township. She also enjoyed taking senior citizens to Hillman for meetings. She enjoyed being family historian, her photographs and many scrapbooks, playing her xylophone and watching the Twins baseball games. She moved into the Dewey Place Apartments of Foley in October, before she sold her farm in November of 1998. Dorothy passed away Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at the Foley Nursing Center at the age of 86 years. She is survived by sister, Beatrice (Merlin) Johnson of Mora; sisters-in-law, Arlene Rice and Margaret Rice both of Milaca; Dora Struffert of Foreston; brother-in-law, Dewey Bekius of Milaca; many nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, three sons in infancy, Harold in 1950, George in 1952, and Gunnar in 1966; her husband of 38 years, Gunnar; sisters, Rosella Trunk, Mayble Bekius, Vivian Bordwell and Laverne Trabant; brothers, Stephen Rice, Eugene Rice, William Rice, and Ted Rice.