Dorothy Wollum

Dorothy Marguerite (Elliason) Wollum Dorothy Marguerite (Elliason) Wollum, 56-year resident of Mille Lacs County passed away on Monday, October 10 at Mille Lacs Heath System in Onamia. She moved to Lake Song Assisted Living in August 2008 from her longtime home on Cedar Street in Onamia. Dorothy was born July 8, 1919 at her grandparent’s house on North Ferry Street in Anoka, Minnesota to Marshall & Dottie Elliason. Marshall came from Bindal, Norway and Dottie was from Elizabeth, IL. She already had two older brothers, Everett and Kenneth, and her younger sister (Nora) Geneva joined the family later. The family lived in Princeton, where Dorothy’s father had a gas station and fuel business. During the Great Depression in 1932, the business and home were lost to foreclosure, forcing the family to move to their small cabin near Sunset Bay on Mille Lacs Lake. It was tough moving from a house in town to a rural cabin, but they made the best of it. They later moved into Isle and rented a house, but kept the cabin. Dorothy graduated from Isle High School in the Class of 1937, and worked at various jobs around the area, and even one in Minneapolis for a short time. She met Robert (Bob) Wollum of Red Top at a dance at Slater Malone’s Ballroom outside of Isle and they immediately fell for each other. They went to see “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939 when it came out in theaters. Dorothy and Bob eloped and were married August 9, 1940 in Northwood, IA at a ‘marriage mill’. Later they found enough change under the chair cushions in their hotel room to pay the hotel bill. They finally got a Wedding Cake at their Golden Wedding Anniversary! They rented in Red Top, moved to Thief River Falls, to Anoka, and finally to their own land in Coon Rapids in 1947. Bob and Dorothy designed their own house and built it themselves, adding on in the late 1950s. Dorothy worked for Federal Cartridge, Bjorkman Furs, and lastly as an accountant for the Anoka Regional Treatment Center in Anoka. During this time she was also a wife, mom, gardener, and was active in the Coon Rapids United Methodist Church and several organizations. They raised their three children in Coon Rapids: Kathleen, Robert, and Gerald. In 1976, after 29 years in Coon Rapids, Dorothy and Bob (mostly Bob) decided it was time to move to Onamia for retirement. Dorothy was a member of the Onamia United Methodist Church, and was treasurer for many years. She was also a board member and volunteer at the Mille Lacs Lake Museum in Isle. Dorothy was talented at sewing and cooking, and could whip up a Halloween costume and Sunday dinner at the same time with ease. Her cookies, cinnamon rolls, and steam pudding were legendary! She enjoyed her flowers, indoors and out; hunting for agates on a beach, railroad track, or a gravel road; genealogy; and playing her electronic chord organ. Dorothy learned the Palmer Method of handwriting in school at Princeton and had almost flawless handwriting. She and Bob went fishing together, and they played many games of cribbage and Boggle. Dorothy was proud of her father’s Norwegian heritage, and took lessons to learn a bit of the language. And she was also proud of the hard work, precision and wit of her mother’s Irish & English family! In 1994 Dorothy was able to take a trip to Norway. She always enjoyed family get-togethers very much. Several years ago, the Mille Lacs Messenger recorded a video of Dorothy singing “The Old Milaca Trail” that is posted on youtube. Dorothy is preceded in death by her father in 1961, her mother in 1989, her husband Bob in 1993, all of her siblings, cousins, in-laws, and an infant daughter in 1951. She was the last of her generation in the family. Dorothy is survived by her children Kathleen Gilleen of Coon Rapids, Robert (Diane) Wollum of Elk River, and Gerald (Sharon) Wollum of Coon Rapids; grandchildren Jon Gilleen, Julie Weber, Mary Martin, Lori Huepenbecker, Sara Penny, Chris Wollum, and Erik Wollum. She is also survived by eleven great-grandchildren and many caring friends. Thanks go to Dorothy’s granddaughter Mary Martin for all the time she spent helping to take care of her Grandma. Special thanks to Dr. Bracken, Dorothy’s friends from the United Methodist Church, and the staff at Lake Song. While we know she’s in a place with no pain or suffering, we’ll still miss her.

Tributes

Dorothy Wollum

July 8, 1919 - October 10, 2011