Dorothy Pirrung

Dorothy never minded us getting covered in dirt while 4-wheeling in Askov.

I will forever remember Dorothy with that that beautiful smile.
She will be so missed.

Dorothy has been in my life for over fifty years. Bill and Dorothy are God Parents of are second son Troy. In are younger years we road motorcycle to Canada ours was a 350 Honda not the most conformable machine to ride. Debbie use to babysit my three kids. Anyway Dorothy and I went way back she was always in my heart and will always have a place there God Bless Linda Meyer

Sent with love and remembrance,

Please accept our heartfelt condolences on the passing of Dorothy. She was cherished by many friends and family members, and her absence will be felt by all who knew her. During this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with you. With love from the Bridley family: Jesse, Jenna, Aurora, and Bella.

A TOAST TO DOROTHY
Dorothy loved life:
Even though she had polio at an early age it never restricted her from doing what she wanted. She had other health issues that appeared throughout her life, but she was courageous and faced them head on. She was a strong-willed and minded individual. One to be admired.
Going to Garage sales and Flee Markets was a passion of hers. She loved the excitement of finding those special treasures and having a good time while doing it.
Dorothy enjoyed many road trips, fishing trips, and countless other outings. She loved camping and traveling with family and friends and creating lasting memories with every adventure.
With her girls and little William, they took a trip to Florida just before Christmas. Her last trip was to Aruba with her daughter Debbie and friends. This lady liked to see and experience new places with people she loved and creating priceless memories. She loved her family so much and told countless stories about them.
There usually was an adventure every time you went with Dorothy. I remember one trip with Bill and Dorothy in New Mexico. We stopped for gas and asked the attendant if there was anything to see in the area. The attendant said that it was mainly cattle country so there are lots of cattle jokingly. Then she said “oh” there is Billy the Kid’s old home just off the main highway a few miles down the road. We decided we would check it out. So, we turned off the main road. The road was blacktopped for about 10 miles, and we came to Billy the Kid’s home. The house was closed up, so we looked at the map. It appeared the road went down to secondary roads but looked like it would eventually go back to the main highway. Dorothy said we might as well continue on this road and see some of the back country. It looks like it circles back to the main highway. I was blamed for looking at the map, but I believe it was Dorothy that suggested it. So, we drove on. It was gravel but not too bad. Then the road got narrower and eventually was just two-wheel tracks. We had crossed a few cattle grates. We came to a Y in the road. Two-wheel tracks to the right and two to the left. No signs. To the left was the right direction to the main road so we went that way till we ended up in the middle of a cattle pasture surrounded by cattle and no more wheel tracks, just cattle tracks. We stopped and looked around. What do we do now? It’s a long way to go back the way we came. We finally saw ranch buildings on a hill in the distance. If there are buildings, there is probably a road. So, we drove through the pasture dodging the cattle, towards the buildings. We just barely fit through a gate with a cattle grate before ending up in the rancher’s yard. We high tailed it out his driveway as fast as we could and found a gravel road, finally making it back to the main highway. I guess the gas station attendant was right, it was just mainly lots of cattle. Dorothy laughed and joked about that the rest of the trip.
On another trip we went to a Bluegrass festival in Kentucky with Dorothy and Bill. It was out in the middle of nowhere in a natural wooded amphitheater. We sat in a Hickory tree grove and watched the entertainment. As the afternoon went on, the nuts started falling so hard on us, we thought they were trying to chase us darn Yankees back home. It was a hot afternoon when we left the festival. Our motel was across the county line in a dry county (no alcohol beverages). Dorothy and Bill thought we should pick up a case of beer before crossing the county line to take back to the motel for some refreshing drinks that night, so we did. When we drove into the motel parking lot, there sat a sheriff’s car with a deputy in it near the motel’s front door. Not knowing what laws a dry county had, Dorothy said we had better not parade by the deputy carrying a case of beer. We covered the case to hide it in the van and went in without it thinking we could get it later. It was getting close to sunset. We watched that sheriff car till it got dark and it didn’t leave. We couldn’t see if the deputy left after dark or not. Needless to say, we went dry that night.
Over the years, Dorothy and Bill hosted several MEA gatherings at their Askov Home and Store. MEA is a few days in the fall when the kids are out of school. The gathering included family and friends. It was always with plenty of food and drink. It included walks to the caves in the park, rides on trails through the woods and getting stuck if it had rained, time spent around the campfire and of course time in Bill’s store, saloon, barber shop or whatever you called it. It was always a fun time.
Dorothy was creative with her artistic abilities. Her family loved getting yearly Christmas ornaments created and painted by her. We have so many of her ornaments that we have to put up two extra Christmas Trees for them all. These are priceless mementos. We enjoy them. Making birdbaths from rhubarb leaves and cement was another project she did. She was always working on projects and happy to give them away to friends and family.
Dorothy loved to drive. From the early days on the farm, she drove a baby blue Ford one-ton truck that required a team effort of her steering and operating the petals while her sister did the shifting. On road trips Dorothy was behind the wheel enjoying conversations with her passengers and watching the scenery go by. This led to her career of driving school bus. To this day she gathered every Thursday with her school bus driver friends. I believe she said they have been having lunch together for 30 years. Now that is true friendship.
Talk about a lucky person that would be Dorothy. She loved going to the Casino and playing the “White Orchid”, whatever that is, and mostly likely coming out a winner. She was a WINNER!!
Dorothy was a remarkable woman, wife, mother, Grandma, Great-Grandma, (Grandma Dot) sister, aunt, cousin and friend who had a contagious smile and a big heart. We Loved her Dearly!
Let’s toast. As we raise our glasses in memory of Dorothy, let’s take a moment of silence to remember the many ways she touched our lives. Dorothy was an inspiration to us all and will be missed. TO DOROTHY!

From Kenny and Fern (Tootie) Vesledahl