Lorna Dosch

Fitchburg:   Lorna Jane (Wilson) Dosch, age 96, died Friday, August 20, 2021, at her apartment in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, after a slow decline in health.

Lorna was born November 12, 1924, the fourth child and second daughter of Albert and Hilda (Anderson) Wilson of Clayton, Wisconsin, where she grew up on their Clayton farm. She graduated from Clayton High School in 1942, and a year later followed her fiancé, Ensign Lee Dosch, US Naval Reserve, to Boston where he was studying radar engineering at Harvard and MIT. They were married on March 4, 1944, at Harvard Chapel. After Lee was sent to the war in the Pacific as a destroyer radar engineer, Lorna returned to Clayton to help her parents on the farm.

After returning from active duty in 1946, Lee and Lorna moved to Cumberland, Wisconsin, where Lee accepted a teaching and coaching position at Cumberland High School. For 71 years Lorna continued to live in Cumberland, even after Lee’s death in 2001, until she moved into assisted living in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, in 2017 to be near her son, David.

Lorna was active her whole life in school, community, and church activities. As a member of Cumberland First United Methodist Church, Lorna served on many committees and sang in the choir. She was very active in the United Methodist Women, donating countless crafts, preserves, baked goods and flowers to their fund-raising activities at the church.

Once her children were in junior high school, Lorna took a job in the kitchen at the high school, eventually managing Cumberland’s school lunch program. Students and staff alike enjoyed the fresh and baked-from-scratch foods offered by the lunch program.

In retirement, Lorna accompanied Lee to any and all sporting events connected to Cumberland High School. They were loud and enthusiastic cheerleaders for Cumberland’s student athletes. They also traveled broadly in the US and Europe, frequently to visit family and friends, but often just for the adventure of seeing new places. Camping was their favored way of traveling.

In summers, Lorna could best be found in her expansive flower and vegetable gardens. Growing food and flowers gave her great pleasure as did giving away the fruits of her labors. When not outside, she could be found sewing, knitting, or crafting; that is, when she wasn’t playing cards with friends. Bridge and “500” were her favorite games. And for those who stopped by to chat, there was always coffee and something homemade to go with it.  She will be remembered as a talented story-teller, a warm and compassionate person with a practical and tough northern mentality, traits she attributed to her Swedish heritage.  She will be dearly missed by those who were lucky enough to call her family or friend.

At age 96, Lorna has outlived most of her generation of friends and family. She is pre-deceased by her husband Lee (2001), son Duane (2012), and siblings Lloyd, Leonard, Hazel and Donald. She is survived by two sisters-in-law, Marion (Dosch) Elmer and Evelyn (Anderson) Dosch; sons, David (Lynn Hanson) and Dennis (Karen Parks); daughter-in-law, Judy Steininger. She was blessed with 6 grandchildren -- Michael (Browen Mead), Christie (Alex Stanislaw), Katie (Randy Richgels), Pat (Jill Cimino), Jon (Emily Lemesany), and Alex; and 6 great-grandchildren, Tristen, Arwyn, Evie, Penny, Hazel,, and Sonna.

A memorial service will be held at Cumberland (Wisconsin) First United Methodist Church (1120 11th Avenue) at 11 AM on Saturday, November 27th with visitation at 10 AM at the church and lunch at noon following the service. She will be laid to rest beside her husband at Lakeside Cemetery in Cumberland, Wisconsin.

The family suggests that memorials may be made to the United Methodist Women of Cumberland’s First United Methodist Church, PO Box 775, Cumberland, Wisconsin 54829.

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