Dorothy Furne

DOROTHY EILEEN FURNE

Oxford Junction

Dorothy Eileen Furne, 86, of Ottumwa, formerly of Oxford Junction, died Saturday, April 16, 2016, peacefully at her home. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 20, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Oxford Junction. A visitation will be held at 9 a.m. until the time of her service. Burial will be held at Mayflower Cemetery following the service. Lahey Funeral Home will be assisting the family at this time. A Celebration of Life for Dort's second family of friends in Ottumwa will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, April 22, at Sirloin Stockade, 2645 Northgate St., Ottumwa, in the social room.

Dorothy was born March 8, 1930, in Conrad, Mont., to Roy and Margaret (Aaberge) Welter. She graduated from Tacoma High School in 1949. Dorothy managed a movie theatre in Tacoma, Wash., where she met a sailor, James E. Furne, and they were married in September 1951. They moved to Oxford Junction where their three children were raised. She worked doing dispatch for the Oxford Junction ambulance when it started, was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Post No. 473 and homemaker. In 1979, they moved to Ottumwa where she took a painting class, then became the teacher and part owner of the studio. She was still painting, volunteering for hospice, active in auxiliary and a care giver to a special lady, Cora, at the time of her death.

Those left to cherish her memories are her daughters, Lonni (Dan) Koch of Mechanicsville and Jamie (Danny) Slouha of Lost Nation; grandchildren, Jake and Macy Koch, Erin (Kyle) Yarolem, Eric, Elli and Eli Slouha and Cody, J-Ed and Kristy Furne; four great-grandchildren; sisters, Marjorie Perrone of Tacoma, Wash., and Frances Cook of Olympia, Wash.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, James; and son, Roy.

Memorials in her honor may be directed towards her family at P.O. Box 321, Mechanicsville, IA 52306.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.laheys.com.