Dorothy Lupkes

Dorothy E. Lupkes, age 96, of Wheaton, Minnesota passed away Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at the Traverse Care Center in Wheaton.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton with Rev. Michael Breach officiating. Organist will be Theresa Thiel with special music by Dennis Johnson.

Interment will be in St. John Lutheran Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Cal Baldry, Greg Byman, Roger Byman, Michael Koci, Ralph Lupkes and Walter Schmidtke. Honorary Pallbearers will be Dorothy's grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Friday afternoon from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. with a 5:00 p.m. Prayer Service at St. John Lutheran Church. Visitation will continue Saturday morning one hour prior to service time at the church.

Dorothy was born March 10, 1922 to August and Anna Byman, the fifth of eight children. She was born and raised on a farm west of Wheaton. She always talked about how she herded cows as a young girl, and how far she had to walk to school. Dorothy attended District #47 school and graduated from Wheaton High School in 1940. After graduation she attended Rasmussen Business College in the Twin Cities for two years. During that time she worked for her room and board for a family in Highland Park.

Dorothy's parents requested that she return to Wheaton for employment and she obliged. She started working at the Co-op station in Wheaton as a bookkeeper. While working there she met Elmer Lupkes, who asked her for a date. Dorothy and Elmer married in 1951 and were blessed with three daughters: LuAnn, Susan and Janet. Elmer farmed east of Wheaton and Dorothy was a housewife and a stay at home mom. In addition to tending to her three daughters and managing the household, Dorothy also was very active in raising chickens and doing whatever was necessary to get the eggs to market.

Elmer farmed until he had a heart attack in 1980. Dorothy and Elmer moved into Wheaton and lived there for over thirty years. Dorothy entered the Traverse Care Center in January of 2016. She was a devoted wife. She and Elmer were married sixty-four years. She cared for Elmer as his health declined. Elmer entered the Traverse Care Center in June 2013 and remained there until his death in August 2015. Dorothy was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was always concerned about who was watching them and that they were safe. She loved to have a vegetable garden and continued her gardening skills beyond the age of ninety. She enjoyed canning, especially tomatoes. She was a wonderful cook and was always reading cookbooks and clipping recipes, even into her nineties. She was always concerned about meals for Elmer, family and guests.

She was raised in the Mission Covenant Church as a child and joined St. John Lutheran Church when she married Elmer. Dorothy was baptized at St. John on October 13, 1953. She was an active member regularly attending church, teaching Sunday School, serving on the funeral committee and was active in LWML. She enjoyed coffee with the ladies at the café, and time spent at the cabin on Lake Traverse. As "empty nesters" she and Elmer enjoyed many good times with other couples. Dorothy was very proud of her Swedish heritage.

Left to cherish her memory is her daughters: LuAnn (Wayne) Lund of Wyoming, MN; Susan (Keith) Wilts of Wheaton, MN; and Janet (Rick) Scherer of Osseo, MN; grandchildren: Eric (Brooke) Lund; Joel Lund; Mark (Jamie) Lund; Andrea (Christopher) Strautz; Adam (Stacy) Sprengeler; and Tyler Wilts; great-grandchildren: Brennan and Cailin Strautz; Grace and Claire Lund; Lydia and Charlotte Lund; and Riley Sprengeler; two sisters: Amy Johnson of Robbinsdale, MN; and Roselle Baldry of Wheaton; sister-in-law Shirley Byman of Wheaton; and many nieces and nephews.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; husband Elmer; two sisters: Alice and Eleanor; and three brothers Floyd, Iver and Robert.