Dorothy Shellenberger, age 89, of Des Moines, Iowa and formerly of Storm Lake, Iowa died Sunday, January 15, 2017 at the Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center in Des Moines. 

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Early, Iowa at 1:00 p.m. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake.  The Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of arrangements.

Dorothy Ann Dinges was born November 18, 1927 in Odebolt, Iowa, the daughter of Joseph and Josephine (Beisch) Dinges.

As an infant, she was baptized at St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Odebolt.

Dorothy attended country school at Clinton #5 in Sac County, Iowa, and later attended St. Martin’s Catholic School in Odebolt. She graduated from Odebolt High School in 1945.

Dorothy was a humble woman with a heart filled with love, determination, humor, compassion, and acceptance. She used these qualities to make every loved one feel like the most special person in the world. Never one to complain, she was a hardworking woman who still found time to appreciate the natural world—flowers, animals, and the farm’s beauty—and she captured that beauty through observant photographs. Her appreciation also extended to chocolate; whether she was sharing her candy stash or eating a chocolate donut after Sunday mass, she was delighted by simple pleasures. Dorothy’s energy seemed endless as she tended her flower garden, hung plaid shirts on the clothesline, nurtured her vegetable garden, cooked and canned, and wrote detailed accounts of her life in her daily diary. The gentleness with which she lived her life was remarkable; her light of positivity during the most difficult of times will forever be an example of grace to her family and those who knew her.

Dorthy was married to Robert Shellenberger and they had seven children. Rose Ann (Gene) Steenhoek of Northfield, MN; Mary (Lewis) Jolly of Urbandale, IA; Frank (Brent) Shellenberger of Des Moines, IA; Laurie (David) Eash of Solon, IA; Ann (William) Gray of Des Moines, IA; Marty Shellenberger of Nemaha, IA; Karen (Mike) Miller of Coon Rapids, IA. She has 17 wonderful grandchildren and 23 adorable great grandchildren.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her loving husband, Robert and siblings Raymond (Bud) Dinges and Frances Hoogestraat.

One lingering memory, many may share, upon leaving after a visit at the farm, Dorothy would stand in the yard with a big smile, waving good-bye.  

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