Dorothy J. Schmidtke
Dorothy Jean (Crawford) Schmidtke, 92, passed away at the Elkader Care Center on Friday, June 18, 2021, surrounded by her loving children. She was born Jan. 3, 1929, in Cedar Falls, to Harold and Edna (Tibble) Crawford. She graduated from Waverly High School in 1945.
Dorothy married Robert Schmidtke on Jan. 30, 1949. Three children were born to this union. In 1961, the family moved to Strawberry Point, where they owned and operated the B & D Café. There, they resided until 1969, when they moved to Elkader, where Dorothy worked for the Alpine Inn, drove bus for the school district and later retired from Swiss Valley. She then worked for Northland Agency on Aging until she permanently retired at the age of 80 years young.
She was a member of the Bethany Lutheran Church and a long-time member of the American Legion Auxiliary. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, needle point and Iowa Hawkeye basketball. And, yes, a little gambling.
Dorothy never met a person she didn’t like and she was quick to banter with them all.
Dorothy always said, “I came into this world barefoot and I’m going out barefoot.”
She is survived by her children and spouses, Ronald (Jayne Morris) Schmidtke of Salt Lake City, Utah, Randall (Pam) Schmidtke of Lamont and Debra (Gary) Deshaw of Elkader; six grandchildren, Cody Schmidtke, Stephanie Hingers, Amanda Schmidtke, Jourdan Amerson, Scott Monk, Randi Baird, Monica Meder and Marty Deshaw; five great-grandchildren, Storm, Xander, Braden, Jade and Nicole; and many nieces, nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband Robert, parents and her sister Joyce Traeger.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, at Peace United Church of Christ in Elkader. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 24, at Peace United Church of Christ, with one hour of visitation before the service. Rev. Jon Haack and Rev. Susan Friedrich officiating. Interment will be at East Side Cemetery, Elkader.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established.
Leonard-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Elkader is assisting the family. Online condolences may be left with www.graufuneralhomes.com.
