Dorothy Halverson

Dorothy M. Halverson, age 91, of Decorah, Iowa, died Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at Aase Haugen Senior Services in Decorah. Private Family Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, September 21, 2020 at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church in rural Decorah, with Rev. Dr. Jennifer Edinger officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. The service will also be live-streamed at https://www.facebook.com/washingtonprairie Dorothy Maye (Flaskerud) Halverson was born on May 18, 1929 in Calmar, Iowa, the daughter of Julius and Anna (Flaskerud) Flaskerud. She met the love of her life, Orville K. Halverson, at the local roller rink. They were married on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1948 and began their life together on the Halverson farm near Nordness. Dorothy and Orville had 3 children, Debra, Kevin, and LeEtta. After the death of their son Kevin in 1975, they transitioned from farming to working in town and built the home of their dreams on Minowa Heights. There they spent countless hours watching their 4 grandsons in wrestling, football, baseball, and track events and put many miles on their car driving across Nebraska to see their two granddaughters in Colorado. After Dorothy retired from the Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital in the dietary department, Dorothy became a volunteer at the same hospital. She was awarded the Governor's Volunteer Award for 10 years of service in 2011 and continued volunteering for another 5 years. Dorothy and Orville loved music and were often seen kicking up their heels at the local dance halls. She was also a leader in the church, spending many years as the president of the WELCA at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church. She loved flowers and gardens, especially the first radishes of spring. During her spare time, she walked, bowled in the winter, and did boppers (water aerobics) in the summer. Of course, her main love was making lefse. Every fall she woke early to roll the lefse that people from Decorah and the surrounding area would purchase for the holidays. She made the best lefse!! Dorothy had a wonderful spirit of love and giving, and she will be dearly missed by her family and friends. Dorothy spent the last 4 years at Assisted Living at the Aase Haugen Home. She became famous as the face on the billboard for Assisted Living last October. She went into hospice care in March and died at Aase Haugen with her daughters by her side on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at the age of 91. She was preceded in death by her parents, Julius and Anna Flaskerud; husband Orville Halverson on March 18, 2005; son Kevin Halverson in January 1975; siblings: Erick (Ann) Flaskerud, Laurence (Viola) Flaskerud, Julius Flaskerud in infancy, Marie (Flaskerud) (Richard) Rindels and Herman Flaskerud; father- and mother-in-law John and Hilda Halverson; three sisters-in-law: Hazel (Halverson) (Bob) Espe, Elsie (Halverson) (Ivan) Haugen and Clara Halverson; and brother-in-law Ernie Soland. Dorothy is survived by two daughters, Debra (Halverson) (Denny) Larson of Decorah, IA and LeEtta (Halverson) (Ying-Kit) Choi of Centennial, CO; six grandchildren: Jason (Melissa) Larson, Michael (Amber) Larson, Adam (Kim) Larson and David (Sara ) Larson, Tiffany Choi, and Addison (Choi) (Bryan) Perrott; eight great-grandchildren: Kylie, Blake, Mia, Owen, Kane, Will, Luc, and Tilia; and two sisters-in-law, Carolyn Flaskerud and Julia Soland of Decorah. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Washington Prairie Lutheran Church, 1725 Washington Prairie Road, Decorah, IA 52101 or Aase Haugen Senior Services, 4 Ohio Street, Decorah, IA 52101.