Dorothy Einspahr

Dorothy Einspahr, age 99, passed away on July 13, 2022, at Wellington Place in Decorah, Iowa. A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. on July 29, 2022, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Webster City, Iowa with the service conducted by Pastor Joseph Pierson. Burial will be at Graceland Cemetery, Webster City. Visitation will precede the service from 9 to 10 a.m. The service will be livestreamed and can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/stpaullutheranchurchwc/ Named for her paternal great-grandmother and her maternal grandmother, Dorothea Rosaline Dreyer was born on April 16, 1923, the youngest child of Louis J. and Elsa Krause Dreyer in Fenton, Iowa. Not expected to live, she was baptized at two days old. Dorothy, however, not only survived but thrived, enjoying robust health throughout most of her life. She grew up on the family farm homesteaded by her paternal grandparents, always surrounded by her various dogs and enjoying the outdoors and the many blessings farm life had to offer. Her father died in 1931 and, led by her mother’s intelligent guidance and hard-working example, Dorothy joined the rest of her family in saving the family farm during the Depression years. She graduated from Fenton High School in 1940, continuing to work on the family farm during World War II when her brother was overseas. After the war years, she attended Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, IA and Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, IL during the summers to become a teacher. She taught country school for one year near Fenton, then came to Webster City, IA where she taught the lower grades in the St. Paul Lutheran School. She met the love of her life, Orval Einspahr, at church and they were married on June 20, 1948. They were inseparable and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary just before Orval passed away in 1998. Dorothy continued to teach school after their marriage until their children were born, and also taught for several years during their childhood days. When the church day school was closed in 1969, Dorothy and Ruth Buckley started the church’s pre-school, which emphasized Christian education as well as the skills young children need to acquire, and Dorothy continued to teach pre-school for many years thereafter. Her steadfast faith in her Lord Jesus Christ was both her compass and her anchor during her lifetime. She taught adult Bible study for many years at St. Paul’s and the local nursing homes, taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, served as Sunday School superintendent, sang in the choir, was an active member of Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, a volunteer for Lutheran Braille Workers, and sewed quilts for Lutheran World Relief. She was also active in her community, teaching “Country School,” a program to engage nursing home residents in learning (she finally retired from this at the age of 90), delivering Meals on Wheels, serving as an RSVP volunteer and a longtime 4-H leader. She won state awards in 4-H as an adolescent, was the Iowa Health Care Association’s Volunteer Person of the Year in 2002 and was one of ten receiving the American Red Cross Heroes of the Heartland award in 2011. She excelled at loving her family, and freely gave her love and care to friends, neighbors, and anyone else who needed it. An avid reader and lifelong learner, she also sewed, quilted, and enjoyed nature, instilling that love in her children and her many students over the years. Dorothy is survived by her four children, Elizabeth (Lance) Lorentzen, Mary Ellen (Charles) West, Phillip (Sue) Einspahr, Julie (Tim) Muther, grandchildren Joshua (Katie) Bottorff, Brita Lorentzen, Thomas and Riley Einspahr, Hannah (Bhupen) Acharya, Katrina (Cameron) Burney, and Laura Muther, great-grandchildren Mia, Jack, and Ethan Bottorff, and Caleb Burney, sister-in-law Eileen Dreyer Phillips, and many nieces and nephews. Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband Orval, parents Louis and Elsa Dreyer, sisters Lorena Doherty and Ella Shrum and their husbands, brother Ray Dreyer and his wife Louise, brother Harold, her in-laws, Ernst Einspahr, first wife Emma, and second wife Emma, brothers-in-law, Harold and LaVern Einspahr and their wives, sisters-in-law Nelda Kottmeyer, Elbe Geer, Bernieda Kleber, and Elvera Mueller and their husbands, and nephews Richard and Robert Dreyer, Gary Kleber, and Kurt Shrum. The family would like to thank Pastors Ronnie Koch and Joseph Pierson for their pastoral care, Wellington Place and the Winneshiek Medical Center Hospice teams for the love and tender care Dorothy received from them, cousin Glenn Henriksen for the final stirring concert he shared with Dorothy days before she died, niece Ramona Stevenson who faithfully called her every week, and for the letters, cards, and visits received from her family, friends, and church family. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests memorials may be directed to Winneshiek Medical Center Hospice, St. Paul Lutheran Church Missions Fund, Webster City, Iowa, or LCMS Mission Central, Mapleton, Iowa.