Doris Carolan, age 90, of Decorah, Iowa, passed away on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at Gundersen Hospital in LaCrosse, WI.

Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at St. Benedict Catholic Church, 307 W. Main Street, Decorah, IA 52101, with Rev. Donald Hertges presiding. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at Helms Funeral Home, 306 E. Water Street. There will be no visitation before the service on Wednesday. Please come in and be seated.

Doris Marie Carolan, age 90 of Decorah, IA, passed away on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at Gundersen Hospital in La Crosse, WI. Doris was born on February 27, 1935, to Seth and Letha (McElree) Rhines, in West Union, IA. Although she lived most of her life here in Decorah, she was incredibly well-traveled. Her father, who helped build part of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline later in life, was originally a road mason throughout the Midwest which meant Doris, brother Richard, and sister Alverta (“Bootie”) lived in several different towns all throughout Iowa and Minnesota. When asked about what life was like growing up, Doris always liked to joke that she never had time for trouble because she was always busy dancing or rollerskating! The smile on her face when she'd say that would light up the whole room.

On March 4, 1955, she was united in marriage to Robert Carolan at St. Agnes’ Catholic Church in Bluffton. Doris and Robert had three children: Robert Jr. ("Bob"), Janean and Jason.

Doris loved to keep busy and worked many jobs over the years. Her very first job was at Maid Rite which suited her quite well because she could rollerskate while she worked! She also worked at Decorah Schools and would often help out at St. Ben’s Catholic School. In 1989, she was asked to babysit her 1 year-old grandson, Darrin, and shortly thereafter she started doing daycare full-time. Doris herself was perpetually young at heart and she absolutely adored babies and children. She babysat for over 15 years, and her daycare children still remember her fondly to this day.

After her daycare kids all left the nest, Doris worked as a hostess at the restaurant inside of Hotel Winneshiek. Her favorite job, however, was being a hostess at the iconic Old World Inn over in Spillville. She was also a professional worrier who never grew tired of telling her family “well if I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t worry!” Ironically though, she was the only one who was allowed to worry – nobody was allowed to worry about her!

Spending time with family meant the world to Doris. She made many trips out to Colorado to visit her son, his family, and her grandson and she always looked forward to Bob's 4th of July fireworks up in Hesper. She would also keep up with his snowmobile races - and it was so fun to watch her get all excited when she found out he had won a race! At Nordic Fest time, she opened her front yard up to family and friends so everyone could watch the parade together, which started right in front of her house. It would bring her so much joy to watch her little great grandkids scoop up all the candy being thrown out. As the family matriarch, she also scheduled the annual Carolan Family Reunion and she took great pride in seeing all of her family get together for it every year.

She truly had a heart of gold, and it showed in the hundreds of thousands of cards she sent out over the years. No occasion was even needed for her to send a card just to let you know she was thinking of you. What most people don’t know is that Hallmark, the dollar store, and the United States Postal Service actually owe Doris a card because she single-handedly kept all of them in business throughout the years.

Doris loved flowers and anything purple, which meant that she always had a beautiful garden. She also really enjoyed baking desserts. Her scotcheroos were the best in the world and they disappeared FAST at family gatherings! Doris definitely had, and liked to adhere to, her established routines. Whenever she was baking, she always had her music on so she could sing, clap and dance along to her favorites: Danny O’Donnell, Mollie B, and Alan Jackson. She even had a shrine for Alan in her kitchen! She would often spend her mornings having coffee at McDonald’s as it was the highlight of her day to go sit and chat with her coffee group friends. And if it was a Thursday, she was most likely having lunch somewhere around town with her son and daughter.

Doris’ family would like to thank everyone for the love, support, and kindness shown to us. As Doris would say “don’t worry about me, but I’ll always worry about you”.

Doris is survived by her children: Bob (Dalane) Carolan, Hesper, IA; Janean Sersland, Decorah, IA; and Jason (Caroline) Carolan, Denver, CO. Grandchildren: Dave (Emily) Carolan, Laura (Aaron) McConnell, Darrin Sersland, Brett Sersland (Katrina Collins), Cait Carolan, and Finn Carolan. Great-Grandchildren: Maren Carolan, Parker Carolan, Easton Carolan, McKenna McConnell, and Chael McConnell. Sister: Alverta Ehrie. Brothers-in-Law: Floyd Baumler, James (Robin) Carolan, Herbert Ehrie. Doris is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Doris was preceded in death by her husband Robert Carolan, Sr. Parents: Seth and Letha (McElree) Rhines. Brother: Richard Rhines. Father and Mother-in-Law: Jim and Esther Carolan. Brothers and Sisters-in-Law: Howard Carolan, Clyde Quandahl, Joyce Baumler, Leo (Betty) Carolan. Son-in-Law: Dennis “Jiggs” Sersland. Great-nephew: Tyler Marlow (on 02-25-2006).