Dorothy Mae Coppess

Dorothy Mae Coppess, the daughter of William and Lempey (Makie) Mullins, was born September 21, 1922, in Finlayson, Minnesota.  She was the first of 12 children born into the family and was very instrumental in the nurturing and care of her younger siblings. Dorothy worked side by side with her mother on their farm.  Clothes were washed on a scrub board and hung on the line to dry, and they were also responsible for the caring of the cattle, chickens, pigs, and horses.  In those days it was also important to have a large garden and can the produce to be used by the family during the winter months.  Sewing clothing for the family was another important job.  Often times it included cutting old clothes apart to make use of the portions that were not worn out. In 1940, Dorothy married Walter Holm, and four children were born to the marriage; Beverly, David, Cheryl, and Shelly.  They made their home in Gronigan, a small town north of Pine City, Minnesota.  Life was hard and Walter raised rutabagas and trucked them to the Twin Cities to sell.  Finally they moved to Fridley, Minnesota and Dorothy became a Honeywell employee, a job she held for 25 years.Following Walter’s death, Dorothy was alone until she met and married Bob “Cowboy” Coppess.  They enjoyed listening and dancing to old-time music and just spending time together.  They spent most of their winters in Corpus Christi, Texas.Dorothy found herself alone again after Bob passed away, and her failing health confined her to a nursing home.  While living there she had a bad fall that broke her hip that required surgery from which she never really recovered. Dorothy died April 25, 2011 at the Essential Health Care Center in Sandstone, Minnesota, having reached the age of 88 years.She is survived by her daughter Shelly Ausham of Columbus, Ohio; grandchildren: David Ausham, Matthew Ausham, Dustin Hoeft, Courtney Gryneskie, Brad Wos, Tom Wos Jr., Suzy (Lon) Willis; several great grandchildren; step-daughter: Sherrie (Wally) Day of West Burlington, Iowa, son-in-law: Donald Hoeft of Pine City, MN, sisters Darlene (John) Armstrong of Pine City, MN, Gerri (Roger) Teich of Mora, MN, sisters-in-law: Phyllis Coppess of Minneapolis, MN, Phyllis Mullins, Mary Mullins both of Pine City, MN, and Lucille Mullins of Minneapolis, MN, and one aunt Violet Makie of Minneapolis, MN.  Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents William & Lempi Marie Mullins, husbands Walter Holm, Robert Coppess, her daughters Beverly Holm, Cheryl Hoeft, son David Holm and step-son Ronald Coppess.Pastor Mike Flynn will officiate at funeral services; 11:00 a.m. Friday (2/29/11) at the Swanson Chapel in Pine City. A time of visitation and reviewal will be held one hour prior to the service on Friday. The interment will take place in the Birchwood Cemetery of Pine City, MN. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the Funeral and Cremation Service~Swanson Chapel of Pine City, MN.