Dorothy Marie Hocking, 89, Ellsworth, died Wednesday, May 29, 2019, at the Parkview Manor in Ellsworth.
A memorial service was Monday, June 3, at St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. Burial followed at the Hurley Cemetery in Hurley, South Dakota.
Dorothy Marie Guemmer was born Dec. 29, 1929, the only child of Levi Guemmer and Frances Engel, at Moe Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She was baptized and confirmed in Wellington Lutheran Church of rural Parker, South Dakota. She was raised on Guemmer’s Corner south of Humboldt, South Dakota, and attended District 71 country school through grade eight. She graduated from Humboldt High School in 1948.
Dorothy married Conrad Perkins at Parker, South Dakota, on June 17, 1951. They lived in Parker until they moved to the family farm in rural Turner County, South Dakota. Conrad died in 1966.
Dorothy married Kenneth Hocking in 1969 and the couple lived in Ellsworth. Dorothy was an active member of the First English Lutheran Church in Parker and St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. Art and music were her interests from early childhood. She loved both classical and popular music and was an accomplished pianist who played in her father’s dance band for a short time. Another love was painting with oils and watercolors. One of her paintings was chosen for the cover of the January/February 1999 issue of South Dakota Magazine, and in 2010 she was a featured artist at the Carnegie Cultural Center in Luverne. Dorothy also taught art courses for children and seniors through community education.
Dorothy had many friends and cherished her relationships with Marlin and JoAnn, Mary, and the round table gang at the Ellsworth Café. She adored her cats and enjoyed gardening and watching old movies.
She is survived by four sons, James (Sylvia Tiala) Perkins of Menomonie, Wisconsin, Mark (Kathy) Perkins of Ellsworth, John (Nicolette Yevich) Perkins of Columbia, Missouri, and David (Geneva) Perkins of Gilbert, Arizona; four grandchildren, Jill Perkins (Fred Kreider) of Minneapolis, Max Perkins (Angie Hellmann Perkins) of Seattle, Washington, and Madison Perkins and Megan Perkins of Gilbert; a brother-in-law, Delbert Perkins of Battle Ground, Washington; and a step-son, Kent Hocking of Minneapolis.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands Conrad Perkins and Kenneth Hocking; cousin June “Mickey” Clausen Wentzel with whom she was very close throughout her life; and three step-sons, Gary Hocking, Keith Hocking, and Kevin Hocking.
Arrangements were provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, www.hartquistfuneral.com.
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