Wahpeton, North Dakota
Dorothea E. Pankow,
98, passed away at 1:45 pm on Sunday, February 19, 2017, at
St Catherine Living Center-Benedictine Community, Wahpeton,
North Dakota.
Dorothea was born August 11, 1918 in Hanover, Kansas. She
was the daughter of Jacob & Maria (Hensel) Pfeifer of
Anamoose, ND. She married Harold J. Pankow in 1937 in
Anamoose, North Dakota and he preceded her in death in 1970.
She was also preceded in death by 2 sisters, Mathilda
"Tillie" Ruede and Marie Cron; 5 brothers, Jacob "Jake",
Dan, Hilbert, Gottlieb, and Gerhardt "Gary" Pfeifer; and 12
step-sisters and brothers (The John Schlag family.)
She is survived by 3 children, Elaine Pearson of Marysville,
WA, Diane (Richard) Drew of Springfield, IL, and Arlan
(Sharon) Pankow of Royal Palm Beach, FL.; 6 grandchildren,
Robert (Dawn) Pearson and Mary Jo (Steve) Halvorson of WA,
Rick Drew of CA, Jon (Jaime) Drew of TX, Wendy (Kris)
Swanson of FL, and Joseph (Heather) Pankow of CA; 10
great-grandchildren, Tiffany (Peter) Gomez, Adam (Lisa)
Stobbe, Jared and Luke Halvorson, Amanda and Kyle Pearson
all of WA, Benjamin Drew of TX, Amelia Pankow of CA, and
John and James Swanson of FL; 4 great-great-grandchildren,
Jaclyn, Peter and James Gomez and Addison Stobbe all of WA;
5 step-grandchildren, April of WA, Chuck and Cheri of MN,
and Cindy & Cori of FL.
Dorothea assisted her husband in farming until they moved to
Minnesota in 1952 where she worked in health care at St.
John's Hospital, St Paul, Minnesota until she retired
in1970. In 1977 she moved back to North Dakota to be near
extended family and lived in Bowbells, North Dakota until
2012.
She enjoyed taking care of her grandchildren, flying around
the country to celebrate with her children and friends. She
remained close to many nieces and nephews who looked to her
for stories and comfort as the last survivor of the Pfeifer-Schlag
families. She enjoyed gardening, studying history and
watching the weather. She loved to share Bible stories and
often took flowers from her garden to visit shut-ins. As the
youngest child in a blended family of 20 children, heaven
has a special celebration for her to be reunited with many
of her families members who she comforted in their last days
and to meet her father who passed away when she was 2 weeks
old in 1918 and named her Dorothea.
She will be sadly missed for her sweet thoughtful ways. She
would remind us all, “This is the day the Lord has made: let
us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:24. She wanted
everyone to know Jesus Christ as their Savior; she trusted
in God's promises and she was content.
|
|
|