52 Ancestors: Week 3 Longevity

Week 3: 

Longevity is always in the back of my mind these days. Today is my 70^th birthday and I have a lifetime of crafts, sewing and genealogy projects to finish. I need to live a long time to have a prayer of getting these done. And I need to have my arms, legs and especially my brain to function well these next years. In looking at my family, those on my mother’s side usually live into their late 70s to mid 80s, but are plagued by dementia. On my father’s side most ancestors have lived into their 70s, but with heart problems. My mother-in-law, Lorna Dosch, today told me I had 23 years to catch up to her (she’s 93 this year). I hope to live as long as she has - but unfortunately I don’t share any of her genes. Still, she is my model of longevity.

Lorna Jane Wilson was born November 12, 1924 in Clayton, Polk County, in northwestern Wisconsin. Her father was a farmer who had cleared the land, built the house, barn and out-buildings and owned a threshing machine with which he traveled across several states to harvest the crops of others.

1926 Lorna in center with brother Edwin and sister Hazel on the farm in Clayton WI

The US entered WWII while Lorna was still in high school. In the early 1940s, she met and began dating a young college student named Lee Arlo Dosch from the neighboring town of Amery, WI. Lorna graduated from high school in 1942.

Lorna 1942 Graduation

Lee enlisted in the navy in 1942 with active duty waived until he graduated from River Falls State Teachers College (now a University of Wisconsin school) in 1943.

1942, Lee and Lorna 

Lee was sent immediately after graduation to Notre Dame, Indiana, for Midshipman School. After this training, he was sent to Boston for training in radar technology at Harvard and MIT. While in Boston, Lee bought and sent (by US Mail, no less) an engagement ring to Lorna. She visited Boston after Christmas of 1943, found a rooming house and job and stayed. They married at Harvard Chapel in Boston on March 4, 1944.

Lee Dosch and Lorna Wilson, Wedding Portrait, March 4, 1944

Lee was sent to the Pacific in the fall of 1944. While he fought in the Pacific in the battles of the Philippines and Okinawa as a radar technician aboard the famous picket line destroyers, Lorna returned home. It’s hard to imagine how she must have felt during what must have been a very difficult year for them both.

After the war, they settled in Cumberland, where Lee taught Chemistry and Physical Education before becoming a guidance counselor. They raised a family of 3 boys and Lorna eventually became the head of the food service program for Cumberland Public Schools. Under her tenure lunches were wildly popular with staff and students alike because the kitchen made everything from scratch. 

Lorna, 1983, Head of School Lunch Program 

During the summer school breaks, Lee, Lorna and kids traveled widely within the U.S. via camper.

1966 Fishing Bridge campground - Dave, Lorna, Dennis, Duane

In retirement, they continued their love of travel, visits with family and friends, and service to their community through their church.

After Lee’s death in 2001, Lorna continued to live in the house they had owned for more than 50 years. She managed all her needs – gardening, canning, serving Thanksgiving dinner to a hoard of hunters, volunteering at church, etc, for several years longer. She kept meticulous financial records and managed the maintenance of the house without outside help. She was never afraid to speak her piece about politics. But, like her father before her, over the next two decades, she developed severe rheumatoid arthritis in her joints, especially her wrists. She had a nocardia infection in her lungs which nearly killed her and she lost her hearing to a bout of shingles that settled in her ears. To add insult to injury, she suffered from a particularly aggressive form of glaucoma that stole most of her sight. Her doctor always called her “a tough old Swede” because nothing kept her down for long.

Lorna was well into her 80s when she told me she had baked and was delivering cookies to “the old folks” around town. I reminded her that she was one of the “old folks” and people should be delivering cookies to her house. She just laughed.

Following a fall just after Thanksgiving of 2015, at age 91, Lorna's children finally convinced her she could no longer live in her home. She refused to live with her children and she would not consider leaving Cumberland, so with many tears, she moved a small part of her possessions into a one-bedroom apartment. Owned by the Cumberland Medical Center, this apartment was conveniently attached to the nursing home, hospital and clinic, provided one meal daily and was only a block from her house. With extra help provided weekly by staff member Ruth, driving duties and lawn care at her house provided by a family friend, Bob, neighborly watch over her house by Joe, and monthly visits from son David, Lorna managed both her house and her life as she had always done. She knew when bills needed to be paid, doctor visits scheduled, and birthday cards mailed. By sitting next to the large screen TV, Lorna followed all the sports – Packers, Brewers, and Badgers and could talk knowledgeably about players and statistics. Having coffee with friends (on pretty plates, of course) was always a priority and the kitchen had cookies stashed in many cupboards and drawers.

Lorna January 2016, moving to her new apartment

Easter dinner at Lorna's house, March 27, 2016

Thanksgiving, 2016, with the Colorado kids - Dennis, Alex and Judy, the Minnesota kids - Christie and Alex, and the Wisconsin Dosch's - Dave, Lynn, Mike, Tristen, Katie, Randy, and Evie

Over the 21 months Lorna lived in her apartment, her various ailments sapped her strength and she became more and more frail. She went from walking independently to using a cane, to finally using a walker. She gave up shopping at the Dollar Tree and Nielsen’s super market and just gave lists to Bob or Dave. 





But that didn't stop her from continuing the Thanksgiving dinner with the hunters that had been a feature of deer hunting season for uncountable years. Only now we cooked the meal and brought her back to her house for the day.

In spite of having a life alert necklace, Lorna fell in October 2017 and lay on her floor for 36 hours until Ruth found her when she came back to work on a Monday. She was hospitalized and Dave, Dennis, Judy and I had to find a place for Mom. There was no space available in the Cumberland Nursing Home, which was Lorna’s preference. After many tears, and searches for assisted living places in northwestern Wisconsin and near our home in Madison, Lorna accepted that she would move to the Waterford in Fitchburg, just one mile from our home. The fall left Lorna unable to use her right shoulder – the arthritis has just destroyed her function with her right hand and shoulder. 

Lorna's new apartment in Fitchburg. Her 50th Wedding Anniversary quilt hangs on the left. This is her birthday, Nov 12, 2017. With Karen and Dennis, Nancy Walters, Browen, Penny, Randy, Katie. Tristen is helping Great Grandma open her gifts.

At age 93, Lorna now lives in Fitchburg, the first time she has ever lived anywhere but Clayton or Cumberland. She misses the Cumberland gossip immensely and her subscription to the Cumberland Advocate doesn’t quite fill the void. But she is adapting and getting used to life surrounded by her son, her grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The kids always make her smile and she looks forward to their frequent visits.

Great Grandma Lorna holding Penny, Halloween, 2017

We still have coffee, almost daily, with Lynn now providing bars and cookies for the occasion. She knows she needs the extra help with dressing, bathing, toileting and meals, even though she wishes it could be otherwise. She still manages her finances and her house from a distance. She still tells stories about her life and her families. And now she can attend special events, like Christmas, birthdays, and baptisms with some of her children and great grandchildren.

Tristen and Great Grandma Lorna, Christmas 2017

She came to my birthday party even though it is difficult for her to endure the chaos of lots of people and rambunctious 3-year olds in an unfamiliar place. I have 23 years to catch up to Lorna, God-willing and the creek don’t rise. Lorna is showing me how to live to be old with grace and humor and love. She is my model of longevity.