Dorothy Jean (Crawford) Schmidtke, 92, passed away at the Elkader Care Center, Friday, June 18th, 2021, surrounded by her loving children. She was born January 3, 1929, in Cedar Falls, IA, to Harold and Edna (Tibble) Crawford. She graduated from Waverly High School in 1945.
Dorothy married Robert Schmidtke on January 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, UT, 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.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established.
Visitation: 4 to 7 PM Wednesday, June 23, 2021, and one hour before the service – all at Peace United Church of Christ in Elkader
Funeral Service: 11 AM, June 24, 2021, at Peace United Church of Christ in Elkader with one hour of visitation before the service. Rev. Jon Haack and Rev. Susan Friedrich officiating.
Interment: East Side Cemetery, Elkader
Leonard-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Elkader is assisting the family.