Dorothy Jane Henriksen

Dorothy J. Henriksen, age 84, of Knox Street, Munising, died unexpectedly on Thursday, July 21, 2011 at Marquette General Hospital.  She was born on December 5, 1926 in Munising to Joseph and Mary Rose (Hammabauer) Dolaski.  Dorothy was raised in Shingleton and attended school in Shingleton and Munising.  She graduated from Wm. G. Mather High School and then worked as a telephone operator.  Dorothy married William "Bill" Henriksen on September 13, 1947.  She continued to work for Ma Bell until her children were born.  Dorothy was a fabulous homemaker and she raised their two children with tons of special love.  The focus was always family first.    In 1962 the family moved to Marquette where they became members of Messiah Lutheran Church.  Dorothy and Bill returned to Munising in the summer of 1974 after which and she became an active member at Eden Lutheran Church.  She and Bill were married over fifty-eight years when he preceded her in death on November 8, 2005.
Dorothy loved her "Coffee Ladies", all the laughs and good times they shared -- they have been dear friends forever.  Dorothy had deep rooted friendships and truly valued them all.  Two wonderful people in her life were Pat Seglund (every outing together was an adventure) and Anne Graves (the best big sister anyone could have had!)  Dorothy had other angels in her life and a special one was Angel Veneberg.  She always looked forward to her visits.

Some of Dorothy's favorite things included family, friends and food.  Every summer she spent time at camp on AuTrain Lake with her husband, children and eventually grandchildren. She adored her two grandchildren Grant and Blake, and could watch them fish off the dock for hours on end.  Frequent activities at camp ranged from making pies, to croquet, to running the wood splitter.  A voracious reader for decades, in the later years she was glued to sports on ESPN and a big fan of shows on the cooking channel.  At night she often listened to Christian music on the radio which gave her a sense of peace and comfort.

She is survived by her children  - Pamela Henriksen of Marquette and William "Bill" (Tracy) Henriksen of Marquette; two grandsons - Grant and Blake Henriksen; sisters - Annie Graves of Munising and Josephine Blank of Shingleton; sisters-in-law - Audrey Dolaski, Pat Seglund and Ruth (John) Shields.  Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; husband Bill, and siblings Helen and Paul Dolaski.

"Dorothy's Garden", a large bed of beautiful flowers was recently planted in honor of our Mom.  Love and fond memories of Dorothy, a wife, mom, grandma, sister and dear friend will always be held in our hearts.