Robert Dorothy

Robert Edward Dorothy, 85, went to be with the Lord Sunday, December 28th, 2008 at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Ft. Wayne, IN after a valiant one year battle with cancer. Services will be held at 10:30 am Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Nate Keith officiating. Burial will be held at the North Dakota Veteran’s Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm Thursday at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck, with a Masonic service beginning at 7:00 pm. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. He was born July 16, 1923 in Crookston, Minnesota to Robert Ross and Charlotte Luella Madson Dorothy. Robert was raised and educated in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and attended Itasca Junior College in Coleraine, Minnesota. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 19, 1943 and served as radio operator at Navy radio stations in Hawaii, England, Scotland, and Ireland. He was discharged on February 24, 1946 and enrolled in the University of Minnesota where he studied Agricultural Engineering. He graduated with a degree in Agricultural Engineering in December, 1948. He started working for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Billings, Montana on June 1, 1949 and transferred to the Bismarck office in November, 1949, where he remained until retirement in December, 1979. He then accepted a position with the State Water Commission as the Project Manager of the Southwest Pipeline Project from 1981 to 1985.Robert married Irene E. Prigge in Lewiston, Minnesota on November 26, 1949. They have three children; Roberta Joann and Ross Edward Rhonda, all of Eden Prairie, MN and Mary Louise Bullis Jeff of Fort Wayne, IN. Robert was active in music organizations having played in the Elks band for a number of years and was a member of Doc Lindelow’s Dixieland Band for 16 years. He was a member of the Elks, VFW, Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite, and Shrine. He was a member of the El Zagal Shrine Plainsmen since 1971. He was active in several water user organizations and served as the state president of the North Dakota Water Users Association. In his spare time Robert loved reading, traveling, fishing and spending time with family and friends. He will be greatly missed by devoted wife of 59 years, Irene, and loving family; son Ross and daughter-in-law Rhonda, daughters Roberta and Mary and son-in-law Jeff, and 6 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister Margaret Jean Sundin, and an infant brother. Memorials to Visiting Nurse and Hospice Home, Fort Wayne, IN 46814 or El Zagel Temple Transportation Fund in Bismarck.

Robert Dorothy

July 16, 1923 - December 28, 2008