Dorothy McElfish

Funeral Services: Will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. at the Steen Funeral Home in Massena with burial in the Victoria Township Cemetery, south of Massena. A luncheon will be held at the Massena Lions/Legion Hall in Massena following the burial. Pastor James Hansen will officiate the service.  

Open Visitation: Friends may call at the Steen Funeral Home in Massena on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

Family Visitation: The family will greet friends on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at the Steen Funeral Home in Massena from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

Memorials: In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to the Dorothy McElfish memorial fund to be established by the family at a later date. 

Dorothy Marie McElfish was born June 11, 1926, on the family farm in Victoria Township, Cass County, Iowa, the daughter of William and Martha (Reichardt) Kuesel.  She passed away Friday, January 10, 2020, at the Good Samaritan Society in Fontanelle, Iowa, at the age of 93.

Dorothy was baptized August 1, 1926 and confirmed September 10, 1939 at St. Peter's United Church of Christ.  She attended rural school at Victoria No. 8 and graduated from Massena High School in 1944.  She taught country school at Victoria No. 7 Bell School for 3 years and then Victoria No. 4 Mills School for 4 years.  

On May 20, 1948, she was united in marriage to Morris (Mike) McElfish at St. John's Parsonage south of Lyman, Iowa.  When her husband started his trucking business she stayed at home to answer the phone to set up his loads, so for a joke  she started calling herself a call girl.  Her nickname was Dot  until computers came out and then she changed it to  .com.

She was a lifelong member of the St. Peter's United Church of Christ, St. Peter's Women's Fellowship, American Legion Auxilary, Historical Society, Friends of Library, and Senior Luncheon.  She enjoyed crossword puzzles, game shows, especially Jeopardy. She watched a lot of sports and cheered for the Hawkeyes and Cubs.  She could be found in the morning up at the café having coffee and catching up on all the local news.  She loved life and sharing stories from the good old days.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Morris McElfish in 1998; and grandson, Aaron Erickson.

She is survived by her three children, Cheryl Christensen and husband Dean of Cumberland, Bill McElfish and wife Deb of Greenfield, Mary Erickson and husband Rex of Cumberland; five grandchildren, Cheri (Brad) Chester, Nick (Amanda) Christensen, Richard (Traci) Erickson,  Sydney McElfish, Paige McElfish. Eight great grandchildren;  Austin, Mason, and Brayden  Chester, Grant and Ryan Christensen, Bay, Gage, and Eve Erickson; other relatives and friends.