Skip to main content

Dorothy Galarneault

Age 95, passed away Monday, November 10, 2008. She was a longtime resident of Aitkin, MN, and recent resident at the Terraces of St. Therese,
Hopkins, MN.

She was born August 30, 1913, in Wells, MN, the daughter of Emilie (Schweer) and Edward Kuechenmeister. She was a graduate of Wells High School and the University of Minnesota where she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and president of Theta Sigma Phi, journalism sorority. She came to Aitkin in 1936 to join the staff of the Aitkin Republican. She married John T. Galarneault of Aitkin at St. James Catholic Church on August 6, 1938.

Throughout the years she was active in school, church and community affairs, serving as president of the Aitkin Parent-Teacher Association, the Aitkin Public Library Board, St. James Council of Catholic Women, Brainerd Deanery CCW and chairman of the Aitkin County Citizens Committee on Aging, the Aitkin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the East Central Regional Library Board. She was a charter member of the Aitkin Hospital Auxiliary and one of the organizers of the Lawyers Wives of Minnesota, serving as the first treasurer. She served two terms on the Advisory Committee of the Brainerd Community College, was a member of the State Committee on Library Services, a member of the Blackrock Terrace Board, and served as secretary for the Aitkin County Committee for the Minnesota Statehood Centennial in 1958.

She was presented the Aitkin Area Centennial Outstanding Female award in 1971 and was named Aitkin's first Senior Queen of Riverboat Days in 1986. In 1989 she received a Certificate of Appreciation from the County Committee on Aging for 30 years of valuable contribution. She was selected by Senior Options North as winner of the "Success Over Sixty" award in 1990 in recognition for her outstanding service to seniors. That same year the community room at Maryhill Manor was dedicated in her honor. During the ceremony she was presented a Certificate of Commendation from Gov. Rudy Perpich in recognition of her role as a community leader and volunteer in Aitkin County and in honor of her years of volunteer work in aging programs as well for her hospital, library, church and educational organizations. She also received a Certificate of Superior Service from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in appreciation of 25 years of faithful and honorable service to the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Aitkin County.

She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, St. James Council of Catholic Women, the Brainerd Deanery of Catholic Women, the Seven County Senior Federation and the American Association of Retired Persons.

Surviving are her four sons and daughters-in-law: John K. and Margarita, Golden Valley; Edward and Sharon, Pine City; Robert and Phyllis, Minneapolis and Thomas and Carol, Delano; one sister, Mrs. W.D. Highsmith, Chapin, SC; nine grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, the Honorable Judge John T. Galarneault, her parents, two brothers and three sisters.

Dorothy's life will be celebrated with a Mass of Christian Burial 11 AM Friday, November 14, 2008 at St. James Catholic Church, Aitkin, followed by interment at St. Thomas Cemetery. Visitation will be 5-7 PM Thursday evening at Sorenson-Root-Thompson Funeral Home, 31 Minnesota Ave., Aitkin, and one hour prior to Mass on Friday. Memorials preferred to the Seminarian Fund at the Diocese of Duluth, 2830 E Fourth St., Duluth, MN 55812.

Comments

DeAnn said…
perfectly worded, susan. i'll be thinking of you tomorrow at 11 a.m. and saying a little prayer for you.
Chris said…
What a life she led. My prayers are with you and your family also.
K~ said…
Very nicely said. I think she had a very impressive and full life. Thanks for sharing. K~
bobbione8y said…
i like that you posted this, it gives me a sense of Gigi.

your stories gave me a better sense, i think ;)

Popular posts from this blog

Have you met my friend Jane?

I am a complete Jane Austen junkie, in fact I think that I need to maybe seek help. Shelly tells me I need help and we all know Shel tells it like it is, so it must be true. "Hello, my name is Susan and I love Jane. Jane Austen." I read "Pride and Prejudice", annually. Yes, every year I spend a weekend with Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Now that I think about it I may need to skip my little tradition this year because I have so many other never read books piled up and there is a due date looming from the library. The reason I share this closeted truth with you my friends is because there is a TV event starting this weekend on PBS. It is basically the 10 weeks of Jane, every Sunday night PBS will air a adaptation of Jane Austen's novels. Here is the schedule. So, if you have never had the opportunity to get to know Jane, maybe it is time. Think about it, there is no new TV, it's cold out and you can learn new some new sayings for Monday. Nothing ...

Hiatus no more

I don't know what it is about January, but 'round about January 15th I go into a complete and utter funk - hence no blogging. It is as if I need to cocoon for a bit, metamorphosize, and re-enter the world in February. This year has been especially bad due to our chaotic schedules with the kids, plus I have been working almost 60 hours per week as it is budget time and we are determining what exactly does "hunkering down" look like. Don't worry, work is still fun, challenging might be a better word. I truly love my new job, actually it was a promotion - didn't officially know until this week, so that jump starts the old engine as well. Other than that I have also realized in the last week my body is really, really mad at me. Things are just not working as they should and finally made the decision to go see the doctor who helped with the torn ligament a few years ago. Bottom line, just haven't been taking care of myself and he cracked me around a bit so can ...

JG's Blog

JG has decided he wants his own blog. He wants to call it, JG Uses the Puter (computer). On his blog he will have Game Cube tips, Game Boy complaints, Pokemon stuff and updates on play dates with his friends. He also will have a special section for Speedy to tell how much he loves JG. Here is JG's first post: cgtuioweeejp 345776985214. I am four my birthday is March. Tomorrow I want to play hockey. I feated the Empire with 3PO and R2. Does anyone know how old R2 is? I think he is three and 3P0 is four like me. That's it. I want lunch.