Dorothy M. Lawn
January 17, 1926 - November 12, 2023
Dorothy M. Lawn was born on January 17, 1926, in Corning, KS to Douglas and Pearl (Bobbitt) Foster. She passed away November 12, 2023, at Emerald Care Nursing & Rehab in Cozad, NE at the age of 97.
When Dorothy was 1½ years old the family moved by horse-drawn covered wagon to Dresden, KS where she grew up with older siblings Flave, Irene, Maurice (Buster), Elfred and Lucile.
At the age of five she started school and graduated 8th grade receiving her first watch. Dorothy graduated high school in 1943 and later moved to Norton, KS and lived with her sister, Lucile, helping her care for her nephew Stephen while her brother-in-law Howard was in the army, while also working at Stapleton Drug Store as a soda jerk.
In August of 1947 she met John Joe Lawn. Their first date was to the county fair, and they went fishing the next day at the Prairie Dog Creek.
On July 28, 1948, Dorothy and John were married at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Norton, KS. Religion was a great part of Dorothy’s life. Though the years she read the family bible twice.
Dorothy lived in Norton until 1955 before moving to the family farm in Norton County, where she resided before the family moved in 1963 to Norcatur, KS, because the Norton Reservoir was constructed.
While raising her family, Dorothy worked at the Cardinal Café in Norcatur for 20 years. There she cooked, waited on customers, and bussed tables.
In fall of 2004, Dorothy moved back to Norton where she resided until fall of 2017 (after being a longtime resident of Kansas) moving to Gothenburg, NE to be closer to her daughter Patty and family. In 2018 she moved to Emerald Care in Cozad, NE where she resided until she passed.
Dorothy learned to sew and embroidery at an early age by getting ideas from catalogs, creating her own patterns and making clothes for her dolls and for herself. She had an eye for design, making her daughters' dresses, shirts for her sons, pillowcases, dresser scarves and quilts, which she made for her grandkids and great-grandkids until her eyes would no longer let her.
At the age of nine she started collecting salt and pepper shakers and at one time had over 3,000, which included a lot from her brothers while they served in the armed forces. She also collected pens, pencils, and refrigerator magnets.
Dorothy was an avid fan of the Kansas City Royals (baseball) and Kansas Jayhawks (basketball). She also had a sweet tooth for DQ strawberry sundaes that her granddaughters April and August always brought her. Her ideal time was reading the bible, romance novels or doing word searches.
Survivors include her daughters Priscilla Duncan, Aurora, CO; Patricia (Fred) Beachel-Darnall, Gothenburg, NE; Donna Wiscombe, Bradford, Ontario, Canada; Brenda (Gabriel) Palma, Salome, AZ; sons Jim (Lea) and Kevin (Lori) both of Kearney, NE; son-in-law Ed Fowler, Norton, KS.
Grandchildren: Melanie, Joshua, Coleen, Corey, Toby, Aaron, Becky, April, August, Jennifer, Chris, Matthew, Dawn, Lynn, Melisa, Kyle, Samantha, Blake, Lance, Jordan, and Caiden.
Great-grandchildren: Kristofer, Jacob, Hannah, Kenna, Morgan, Lauryn, Madison, Tristan, Marley, Jude, Perry, Jaron, Lily, Joseph, Donovan, Brandon, Hannah, Taylor, Trever, Tiara, Trent, Addison, Keegan, Delaney, Camden, Cody, Elliott, Mitchell, Kristen, Dayton, Preston, Carrington, Katie, Devon, Bresarias, Karis and Sophia.
Great-great-grandchildren: Kalyn, Brodie, Avalon, Elsalyn, Braden and Atlas.
Numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
Dorothy’s family was her world. After visits from family and friends she would blow you kisses and tell you “Don’t take any wooden nickels.”
She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, husband John Joe, son John Richard, daughters Marlina and Loretta, son-in-law Michael Duncan, granddaughter Berkly Millan, grandson Michael Beachel and great-granddaughter Mary Jane Hernandez.
Funeral service on Friday, November 17, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church with Father Joshua officiating with burial at the Norton Cemetery. Rosary will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. Visitation will be Thursday, November 16, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Pauls Funeral Home, Oberlin, KS. Live streaming will be available on the funeral home’s website.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Asera Care, 64152 2nd Ave., Suite 3, Kearney, NE 68847, American Cancer Society, American Heart Assoc., or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.paulsfh.com.
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Dorothy, please visit our Tree Store.