Dolores Gohdes

Our much beloved Dolores Mary (Wagner) Gohdes died peacefully with family at her side April 5, 2025, in Madison, Wisconsin. Born August 24, 1935, on a farm outside of Edgar, Wisconsin, to Margaret Gertrude (Fischer) Wagner and George Michael Wagner, Dolores was the ninth of ten children in a close-knit, hard-working family. Her early years in Edgar are commemorated in hilarious stories of a shy, smart, observant girl who knew her own mind, was fiercely loyal, and had a nuanced sense of right & wrong.

After graduating at the top of her 1953 high school class in Edgar, Dolores enrolled in St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Wausau and became a registered nurse. She married her high school sweetheart, Paul Norton Gohdes, at the Wagner home place in Edgar on August 24, 1957. Dolores had just finished a year working as a nurse at the VA in Milwaukee, and as they started their life together, she worked to support Dad through med school & residency – while at the same time starting a family & running the household. Paul & Dolores had 67 years together until Paul’s death September 3, 2024.

In her writings, Dolores said:  "My mother was a quiet, soft spoken, intelligent woman with a wry wit." We could use much the same words to describe Mom, who believed that if you didn’t have something nice to say about someone, you shouldn’t say anything at all. Dolores always bloomed where she was planted, quietly cultivating a circle of friends, pursuing her own interests, keeping the family clothed & fed, and finding ways to get involved in the neighborhood & the community, whether in Edgar, Madison (where Beth & Mark were born), El Centro (where Jill & Joel were born), Madison again (where Carol was born), Neenah (where Phillip joined us), Tucson, or back in Madison for her final 13 years with the Capitol Lakes Retirement Community.

Dolores was a life-long learner, music-lover, and avid reader, traits she passed on to her children. At Capitol Lakes she played in a recorder quartet, knitted, played bridge & sheepshead, distributed in-house notices, managed the schedule for the patio garden boxes & for flower arranging for the dining tables, wrote reminiscences, enjoyed in-house concerts & Forward Theater plays, and was an all-around good friend & neighbor. Dolores loved exploring state & national parks, and with various combinations of family she went rafting in the Grand Canyon, paddling in the Boundary Waters, hiking, digging, & birdwatching in the Southwest desert, bicycling the trails of the Midwest, motoring hippo-infested waters in Zimbabwe, and visiting every state capital. In Tucson Dolores learned Spanish so she could communicate with the clients at the Primavera drop-in center, and she & Dad chaired the Bridging Borders Committee at Grace St. Paul Episcopal Church, working with undocumented immigrants in a variety of programs involving emergency food, water, & educational outreach.

Family brought Dolores, aka “Grandy,” great joy. Grandy & Grandpa created a “kick-ass” family (to quote Peter), and every other year Dolores & Paul sponsored a reunion week in Door County, making sure our growing clan stayed close-knit. Dolores is survived by five children, Beth (Bill Karns), Mark (Chris), Jill Wiebe (Keith), Joel (Devorah Goldman), Carol Laurion (Jim), and foster son Phillip (Michelle) Tessen. Also mourning Grandy’s death are seven grandchildren, Jacob Wiebe, Kathryn (Andrew) Grams, Hannah Karns (Matthew Gifford), Samuel Karns (Madeline Bear), Morgan Gohdes (Sarah Ranallo), Andrew (Cassidy) Laurion, and Peter (Jacqueline Johnson) Laurion; three great-granddaughters, Inez “Nellie” Grams, Aurora Gifford, and Henrietta “Etta” Karns; two great-grandsons, Gus Gifford and Wendell Karns; dear sisters-in law, Joan Wagner, Patricia (Fred) Rudie, and Sara Roberts (Carolyn Carlson), and many nieces & nephews.

Dolores will be buried next to Paul at Natural Path Sanctuary near Verona, at a private family service. Donations may be made in her honor to Hephatha Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Agrace Hospice, or a food pantry of your choice. To view her obituary or leave a memory, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.