Obituary of Dorothy M. Holman

Dorothy M. Holman, age 96 of Yankton passed away Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at Avera Sister James Care Center, Yankton. Funeral services will 10:00 AM, Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at Vangen Lutheran Church, Mission Hill, SD with Rev. Velma Larson officiating. Burial will be in Vangen Cemetery, Mission Hill, SD. Visitations will be from 5 to 8 PM, Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home & Crematory, Yankton, SD with the family present from 6 to 8 PM. The visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Dorothy M. Holman, daughter of Fred and Sarah (Erickson) Muecke, was born January 4, 1919 in rural Irene, SD and died February 18, 2015 in Yankton, SD at the age of 96. She grew up on a farm west of Irene and attended Cornbelt Rural School. After completing the 9th grade Dorothy worked as a housekeeper for George and Gracie Gurney. She married her husband, Jarl Holman, on August 23, 1941. He also worked for the Gurney Seed Company. They farmed on the Holman family farm, which was named a Century Farm in 2002, located northwest of Mission Hill, SD. Dorothy was a member of Vangen Lutheran Church where she belonged to WELCA, taught Sunday school for 5 years, and was an avid member of the Quilt Club. She was a member of Handy Hands Extension Club for 27 years, was a 4-H leader for 5 years and a member of Sons of Norway. She was an active member of the local birthday club and enjoyed all the get-togethers. Dorothy and Jarl enjoyed camping the winters near Brownsville, TX, belonged to the Lewis and Clark Camping Club, Yankton County Antique Car Club where they were in parades and events, and they later traveled to Norway. Dorothy traveled to Germany and also went by bus to a Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, CA. Throughout Dorothy's married life her and Jarl collected and sold antiques while participating in tractor and threshing meets. Dorothy had a gift of music, playing the piano, organ and accordion by ear. After Jarl died in 1983 Dorothy continued to live on the farm. She moved to Yankton in ­1995 to an apartment on Birch Road and later moved to Memory Lane. There she enjoyed playing cards with the ladies. She also played cards with grandson Jon and his wife Jen and their daughters Liz and Abby often and enjoyed broasted chicken and pizza with them. Dorothy was a faithful Minnesota Twins fan. She was able to attend a Twins game and a Sioux Falls Canaries game. Her favorite player for the Twins was Jason Kubel as he had a local connection and she knew his grandmother. After the close games she would call her son Dean to discuss the game. Dorothy moved to Avera Sister James in March 2014. Bingo was her biggest pastime while living there. She would keep her 'winnings' and give them to whichever family member was having a birthday next. She enjoyed petunias so her grandson Joe and wife Janita set up a bird feeder/flower pot outside her window filled with petunias. Dorothy kept up with current events, reading the local papers from cover to cover. She was well read and had a fantastic memory of events from her childhood to current day. She was the go-to person for names and relationships of our family and friends. Andrew had asked she use this memory of events to create a journal of her life as she knew it, this she did and we will enjoy reliving her experiences. Survivors include her son: Dean Jerome (Vi) of Canton, SD; 3 grandsons: Andrew Dean of Sedona, AZ, Jon Jarl (Jennifer) of Burbank, SD and Joseph Merle (Janita) of Sioux Falls, SD; 4 great-granddaughters: Elizabeth Nicole and Abbigale Jean of Burbank, SD and Kaya Lyn and Ava Rose of Trenton, MI; 1 sister: Louise Katzenberger of Kingwood, TX; as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Jarl, in 1983, son, Merle in 1974; sisters: Estella Nelson and Alice Zell; brothers: Ernest Muecke and Richard Muecke. Dorothy will always be missed and loved by her family and friends for the kind heart she shared with everyone.