Lillian Esther Dostal

LILLIAN ESTHER DOSTAL

Clutier

Lillian Esther Dostal, 96, of Clutier, passed away Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018, at Westbrook Acres Care Center in Gladbrook under the care of Hospice Compassus. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, Sept. 29, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul Catholic Church in Traer, with Father Michael Hutchison as celebrant. Interment will follow at St. Wenceslaus Cemetery in Clutier. Visitation will be held Friday, Sept. 28, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at St. Paul Catholic Church, with a rosary at 4:30 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m.

Lillian was born on April 15, 1922, in Vining, Iowa, the daughter of Vencil and Emma (Sokol) Bartosh. This was the day before Easter, so her grandmother said that she was an Easter Lily. So the name Esther Lillian was reversed to Lillian Esther.

She attended elementary school in Vining and graduated from Toledo High School in 1940 as a salutatorian of her class. Lillian then attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids and received her teacher's certificate. She taught in Otter Creek township for two years and one year in Howard township.

On Sept. 30, 1941, she was united in marriage to Fred Dostal at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Clutier. Fred was inducted into the U.S. Army on April 21, 1942. After her course at Coe College, she went to California by bus to spend the six-week summer with him. In 1943, she worked as a bookkeeper and filer for General Telephone Co. The rest of her career was spent farming with her husband, Fred, one year east of Toledo and, in 1959, they bought a farm south of Traer. They had a row crop and dairy farm. They retired from farming in 1983 and moved to Clutier.

Lillian was a member of St. Vaclav Catholic Church before becoming a member of I.C. in Clutier and later St. Paul Catholic Church in Traer. She was a member of St. Vaclav Rosary Society, the Catholic Workman (K.D.), the Women Foresters, C.S.A. Lodge, the Carroll Township homemakers, the American Legion Auxiliary and the Polka Club. She held office positions in many of these organizations. She and Fred enjoyed dancing, playing cards and traveling. They went on many fishing trips to Minnesota with their family and friends. They also traveled to Europe several times and throughout the U.S. and Canada, where they attended many polka fests.

Survivors include two sons, Mark R. (Joanne) Dostal of Prineville, Ore., and Kurt (Julie) Dostal of Princeton, Idaho; 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; one son-in-law, Keith Wills of Grundy Center; and many nieces and nephews.

Lillian was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Fred; one son, Lynn Dostal; one daughter, Darla Wills; one granddaughter, Rachael Olson; and three sisters, Alice Zeman, Grace Schnepf and Rose Chitty.

A memorial fund will be established.

Online condolences may be left at Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home, Tama-Toledo, Iowa, at www.kruse-phillips.com.