Beloved mother, granny and friend,
Dorothy Dorszynski Lepeska passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family
on Friday Oct. 31, 2014. Born March 30, 1920, to Marie (Chmielewski) and Joseph
Dorszynski, Dorothy spent her young years living above her parents’ drug store
on Mitchell Street in Milwaukee. She attended St. Anthony’s Catholic School,
South Division High School and graduated from Marquette University with majors
in Latin, English and journalism in 1942. She worked for the Burlington
Press the summer of 1942 and started teaching at Montfort High School that
fall.
Dorothy met Joseph Lepeska, a farmer, at St. Thomas
Church, and by Christmas they were engaged. They married Oct. 16, 1943, at St.
Thomas Aquinas Church in Milwaukee.
Dorothy generously gave her time and talents to her
family and touched the lives of many others. In addition to being a full-time
farm wife and mother, she volunteered, gardened, baked, canned and was very
active at church.
In 1961, she returned to teaching at Iowa-Grant High
School and Southwest Technical College. Dorothy volunteered with her parish,
church, the Wisconsin Women in Agriculture and the Madison Diocesan Council of
Catholic Women (MDCCW), including as President and long-time newsletter editor.
For decades, Dorothy was a correspondent for the Catholic Herald.
Adventurous and active, Dorothy travelled extensively,
including Europe and Australia. She regularly attended the diocesan and
National Council of Catholic Women conventions. She was proud of attending
graduations and weddings of her grandchildren, dancing at each wedding. Until
age 90, Dorothy lived on the family dairy farm near Montfort.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her
parents, husband Joseph in 1992, son David in 1979, and three brothers;
Joseph, Richard, and Donald. She is survived by five children: Allyn
(Ellen Fitzsimmons), Dallas, Texas; James (Linda), Montfort; Mary Frances
(Patrick Tearney), Port Washington, Wis.; Jane Grinde (Jon), Madison, Wis.; and
Betty Anne Bittner (Mark), Two Rivers, Wis. She has 18 grandchildren: Heather
Lepeska (Steven Price); Molly Lepeska (Greg Clampffer), Joshua Lepeska; Erika
Kelley (Michael), Kristen (Brent Nelson), Ryan Lepeska; Lisa (Rob Edge), Paul
Havlik (Traci), Mike Havlik (Tammy); Caitlin Tearney (Brett Melin), Connor
Tearney; Gabrielle Grinde (Andy Schilling), Johanne Grinde (Carlos Caamal),
Anna (John Stoltenberg), Jonathan Grinde; Nathan Bittner (Blaire), Erin Bittner
(Brian Field), Ross Bittner; and 22 great-grandchildren.
Special thanks to nieces Joan and Ann and the wonderful
and caring staff of Willow Pointe and Home Health.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Monday
Nov. 3, 2014 at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Montfort with burial to follow in
the church cemetery. A visitation will be held from 4:00- 8:00 P.M. on Sunday
Nov. 2, 2014 at the Soman-Larson Funeral Home in Montfort where a parish prayer
service will be held at 8:00 P.M. on Sunday evening In lieu of plants and
flowers, a memorial fund is being established in loving memory of Dorothy
Lepeska.
