Lillian Doty

Lillian Irene Doty, age 98, of Willmar, formerly of Spicer, died Thursday evening, May 29, at Copperleaf Senior Living in Willmar.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 3, at Faith Lutheran Church in Spicer. Interment will be in the Spicer City Cemetery. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Monday, June 2, at the church and one hour prior to the service. Arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Green Lake Funeral Home in Spicer.
Lillian was born February 3, 1916, in Madrid, Iowa, the daughter of Peter and Hedvig (Emberg) Engwall. At a young age her family moved to Willmar. Lillian attended Goldenrod Country School and later Willmar High School, graduating in 1933. She then worked at Walgreens in Minneapolis. On August 28, 1937, she married Rudolph "Dutch" Doty at the Little Brown Church in Iowa. They lived in Minneapolis until 1946, when they moved to Spicer. They took over Dutch's father's Texaco station which they owned and operated from 1950 to 1970. They also owned and operated a bus service for the New London-Spicer schools from 1960 to 1973. In retirement, Lillian and Dutch wintered for several years in Texas. Lillian lived at Copperleaf Senior Living for the past three years.
Lillian was a member of Faith Lutheran Church, where she was active with Ladies Aid and was instrumental in the building of the old church. She was very active in the Spicer community and was sometimes called "The First Lady of Spicer." She attended most New London-Spicer School sporting events and concerts, and especially enjoyed watching her grandchildren participate in these events. She was also the driver of a group of Spicer ladies to Senior Citizens in Willmar.
While wintering in Texas, she began taking painting lessons and painted many pictures, including several first-prize paintings at the county fair. She also enjoyed crocheting, knitting, sewing, embroidery, cross-stitch and fishing. Lillian and Dutch enjoyed traveling and visited all 50 states and Canada, Sweden and Japan. Lillian looked forward to the annual 4th of July event on Doty Hill and serving at the wild game feeds at her church. She was very proud of her Swedish heritage. Lillian was a loving, kind, patient and strong woman and will be deeply missed.
She is survived by four children, James (and Patricia) Doty of Spicer, Peter "Bill" (and Diane) Doty of Spicer, Susan (and James) Ahrenholz of Prinsburg; and Gideon Doty of Spicer; a daughter-in-law, Sue Doty of Spicer; 15 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Anita Doty of Willmar; several nieces and nephews; and other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Rudolph "Dutch" Doty in 2006; a son, Paul Doty; a grandson, Todd Ahrenholz; three brothers, Carl, Fritz and Arvid; and three sisters, Elsie, Elna and Alpha.

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