Dorothy Jane Isakson

1944 - 2024

Dorothy Jane Isakson

October 11, 1944 - December 17, 2024

Dorothy Jane Isakson, age 80, passed away on December 17, 2024, peacefully at home beside her husband, Hans Isakson, and other loved ones. She died after battling diabetes, end-stage kidney disease, and Alzheimer's dementia.

Hazel Riebe's youngest daughter, Dorothy Riebe, was born in Milwaukee, Wis., on October 11, 1944. She grew up on Brown Street, playing kick the can, red light-green light, and other childhood games with her siblings, many cousins, and neighborhood kids. She attended all the local schools and graduated from West Division High School (1963), never moving from her Brown Street home but always rooting loudly for the Green Bay Packers. She attended the local church on the corner (United Church of Christ), where she sang in the choir, and eventually married Hans Isakson, which started the adventure that would last her life. Dorothy goes from the Milwaukee Public Library, where she worked as a Librarian, to the wife of a Naval Radioman. They packed their young baby boy, Timothy, and headed for Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Va.

While Hans was at sea and she was caring for their son and newborn daughter, Tameron, Dorothy experienced a significant shock when her grandfather passed away. In a daze, she packed up herself and the children and somehow flew back to Milwaukee for the funeral and back to Virginia Beach. Grandpa was like a father to Dorothy. (Hazel divorced while Dorothy was a child.) He was a loving and caring man of the house. While their mother worked at Walgreens, he cared for Dorothy and her siblings. So, his demise created a big hole in the heart of the Riebe family.

They returned to Milwaukee two years later with their son and daughter in tow. Back in Milwaukee, Dorothy worked at GE Medical Systems so Hans could earn his Ph.D. (with the help of the G.I. Bill). In 1975, the family moved to Athens, Ga., where Hans got his first job teaching at The University of Georgia. A few years later, the family moved to Pullman, Wash. (WSU), then Arlington, Texas (UTA), and in 1990, Cedar Falls, Iowa, where Hans finished his university teaching career at the University of Northern Iowa.

Along the way, Dorothy was first and always a wife and mother, doing everything necessary for her family. Her passions included solving the NYT crossword puzzles and reading her favorite novels. She enjoyed accompanying Hans on his academic trips. They began collecting crosses from the Spanish missions they visited in California. She also worked some interesting jobs. She was the clerk of the district court in Pullman, a real estate closing agent in Arlington, and the job she liked the best, cashier at HyVee in Cedar Falls, Iowa. People would line up at her register rather than go into an empty line to see her. She was very popular, especially with young children. Dorothy retired from HyVee to spend her remaining days with her husband at the Western Home Communities.

Dorothy is survived by her husband, Hans; two children, Timothy (Leah Wylde) Isakson and Tameron (Brian Bader); five grandchildren, Nathan (Taylor Floyd), Timothy "Jordan", and Briana Isakson, and Bradley (Dallas Garman) and Alexis Bader; two great-grandchildren, Korbett Isakson and Jaylee Bader; two siblings, Robert (Joyce Mather) and Virginia (Ted Luedke); and four cousins, Audrey (Patrick Willis), Gary (Karen Richards), Thomas (Ann Evans), Carol (Roger Schiller) Tennyson and many other family members.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Hazel Pollock (Riebe); sister, Jeannie (Robert Bean); grandfather, Robert Pollock and his wife, Jenny Danley; and four cousins, Roger (Bonnie Wagner), Sharon (Rauland Duesing) Tennyson, John (Carol Berg), and Barbara (Robert Blumenberg) Pollock.

A Celebration of Dorothy's Life will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, February 6, 2025, at First United Methodist Church, 718 Clay Street, Cedar Falls, IA, with visitation an hour prior, and a luncheon following the service. Inurnment will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please direct memorial contributions to First United Methodist Church. Visit www.dahlfuneralhome.com to share condolences.