(Photo)

Mary Lou Dobson, 89

Mary Lou Dobson, 89, passed away peacefully, following a short illness, on May 18, 2016, at her home in Fremont, Nebraska. She was surrounded by her family. Mary Lou was born in northern Minnesota to Leon E. Battles, a civil and mining engineer, and Kathryn M. Battles. Mary Lou grew up in Coleraine, MN. She graduated with a degree in home economics, with an emphasis in institution management from Iowa State University. During college she met and married Robert D. Dobson, a returning GI and chemical engineering student from Omaha, NE. Upon his graduation he received a job offer from Proctor & Gamble, and the couple moved to Greenhills, OH, near Cincinnati, where their son and three daughters were born. Mary Lou was active in community affairs, especially the Girl Scouts, serving in high-level volunteer positions for the Great Rivers Girl Scout Council. She then went on to teach high school home economics. Mary Lou also expertly facilitated many camping trips for the family throughout the U.S. and Canada.

When her husband, Bob, took an early retirement option from P&G, the couple moved to Arlington, NE, to help care for Bob’s parents. After moving they began to design and build their dream home, a unique earth-sheltered passive solar house that was 30 years ahead of its time and received a lot of attention. Mary Lou worked professionally with the Eastern Nebraska Council on Aging as a nutrition site supervisor, manager, and consultant, traveling to Nebraska towns over a wide area. She was also active as a spinner and weaver in the Spinners Web weavers’ guild, of which she was a founding member. Mary Lou spent hundreds of hours demonstrating her craft at historic Fort Atkinson, and also at the May Museum and many other locations. In addition, she donated her organizational expertise to local fairs and the Nebraska State Fair for many years.

A major highlight for Mary Lou and Bob was the Elder Hostel trip they took to Mary Lou’s ancestral land of Scotland. Also, when Bob was singing with the world-ranked Pathfinders Barbershop Chorus, Mary Lou travelled with him on a once-in-a-lifetime performing tour to Russia. Mary Lou was quite talented musically in her own right and played piano exceptionally well. Mary Lou and Bob moved to Fremont, where Bob was born, to live at Nye Square in 2009.

Mary Lou is survived by her son Rob of Bedford, Massachusetts; daughters Deborah of Tucson, Arizona; Becky of Roseville, Minnesota; and Martha (Molly) Gamm of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; granddaughters Emily and Alison Gamm; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased in death by her husband of 64 years, Robert (Bob) D. Dobson, her elder sister Elizabeth Hanson, and her younger brother Charles Battles. Mary Lou donated her body to science, as did her mother. A memorial service will be planned for sometime this summer. Contributions in Mary Lou’s memory may be made to the international education organization AFS-USA. Condolences and memories may be sent to the family at remembrance@rddobson.net.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

FindaGrave memorial # 163599331