Arla Marie Dobroth left this earth after 90 years to be with the Lord on May 25, 2021. She was born at her grandparents’ house in Westgate, Iowa, on August 19, 1930 to Albert and Anna Heeren Dumpman. She grew up on a farm that had no electricity, running water or plumbing until 1946. Her early memories include pumping water at the hand pump to wash clothes, then hanging the clothes on the line to dry, helping her mother plant their garden, and canning vegetables and fruit throughout the hot Iowa summers. One week after graduating from high school in 1948, Arla left the farm behind and moved to Waverly, Iowa to work for the Lutheran Mutual Life Insurance Company as a secretary. It was in Waverly where she met her future husband, Henry (known as Hank to his friends and family), a student at Wartburg College, on a blind date. They were married on September 18, 1949 in Maynard, Iowa, and were together for 65 years until Hank’s passing in 2015.
Their two sons, Victor and Ronald, were born while Arla and Hank lived in Sumner, Iowa. Their daughter, Karen, was born after they moved to Burlington, Wisconsin. Because of Hank’s military and career obligations, the family left the Midwest behind 50 years ago and moved two more times, first to Washington and then to Oregon. It was in Oregon where Arla kept the home fires burning with her usual organizational flair, along with various jobs in medical offices, while Hank traveled for business. Not all travel was business-related as Arla, the girl from a small town in Iowa, and Hank traveled together to see the castles in Germany, the fiords in Norway, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the fall leaves in New England, and the wonders of New Zealand.
Arla was preceded in death by her husband Hank, her parents, a sister, and a grandson in infancy. She is survived by her children, Victor, Ronald and Karen, five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews in Iowa, Illinois and Colorado. Arla has now left her family behind for her next adventure in heaven, and we will miss her dearly. She has been reunited with her beloved Hank and is busy keeping heaven organized and running smoothly.
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