91
Colton, SD
July 7, 2023
Dorothy “Doll” Baumberger, 91, of Colton, passed away on Friday, July 7, 2023 at the Dells Nursing and Rehab Center in Dell Rapids, South Dakota. Her Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 10, 2023 at St. Joseph the Workman Catholic Church at Huntimer. Visitation with the family present will be from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 9, 2023 at St. Joseph the Workman Catholic Church at Huntimer with the Christian Wake Service beginning at 5:00 p.m. with a family-led rosary to follow.
Dorothy was born on August 28, 1931 to John and Jennie (Anderson) Fiegen on a farm near Ward, SD, where she lived for a brief time. Her family moved to a farm located ten miles west of Trent, then finally settled on a farm southeast of Dell Rapids when Dorothy was ten years old. She often talked about the days of working on the farm with her brothers and sisters- picking corn by hand, cultivating corn with a one row cultivator and two horses, and milking cows by hand when her dad was busy in the field.
Dorothy began her education at the DeVaney Country School in Moody County, then attended St. Mary Academy in Dell Rapids for her junior high and high school years. After her high school graduation from St. Mary in 1949, she attended General Beadle College in Madison, SD and received her teacher’s certificate. Dorothy spent the next six years teaching at the Hegge School, a one room school house where, in her first year of teaching, she had 16 students in grades 1-8. Dorothy had many fond memories of her years there and often talked about how she loved teaching her students, playing games at recess, and getting them ready for their Christmas program.
On June 1st, 1955, Dorothy married Terry Baumberger at St. Mary Catholic Church in Dell Rapids. They lived and raised their family on their dairy farm, located northwest of Colton. Dorothy spent many long days helping on the farm. In their retirement years, Terry and Dorothy enjoyed traveling and spending the winter in Arizona.
She loved to garden, and her flower beds were always in pristine condition. Dorothy enjoyed music, she played both the organ and piano. She and Terry loved Saturday night dancing at the local ballrooms. She also enjoyed crocheting, walking, and clogging. Dorothy was an active member of St. Joseph the Workman Parish and Altar Society at Huntimer. Her Catholic faith was very important to her and was held very near and dear to her heart. They had the pleasure of seeing Pope John Paul II in Vatican City in 1975.
She is survived by her children, Pat Baumberger (Patti Raynor) of Columbus, MO; Rita (Marty) Parsley of Flandreau; Donna (Robert) Schmall of Cedar Rapids, IA; Jim Baumberger of Lincoln, NE; Ken (Maribel) Baumberger of Indianapolis, IN; Dean (Susan) Baumberger of Colton; Steve (Julie) Baumberger of Sioux Falls; Julie (Markell) Gnadt of Garretson; and Greg (Sarah) Baumberger of St. Paul, MN; her 37 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren and her sister-in-law, Dolores Fiegen.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Terry on May 18, 2011; her brothers, Melvin and Virgil; her sisters, Helen and Joyce; an infant daughter, Ann; daughter-in-law, Kathy; and grandsons, Isaac Parsley and Phillip Baumberger.