Dorothy Elizabeth Racette, 100, of Oakley, died Tuesday, November 17,
2020, at the Logan County Hospital, in Oakley. She was born August 14,
1920, in a sod house, in southern Logan County, KS, to William O. and
Beth (Wise) Martin. When Dorothy was 8 years old, her family started
building a new home. The home was almost finished when a bad storm hit
and destroyed their sod house. Dorothy remembered moving into the new
home in the middle of the night, during the storm.
Dorothy graduated from Monument High School in 1938. In her 20s, Dorothy
heard of a seed company hiring in Oregon State and moved there with two
friends. While she was home for Christmas, Frank Flax proposed to her.
Dorothy and Frank were married in 1946 and had two children, William and
Mary. They farmed south of Oakley. In 1953 Frank passed away, leaving
Dorothy to care for their two children. She continued to farm on her own
until 1955, when she met Wilcid Racette. They were married on June 2,
1955, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Oakley and they enjoyed 61 years
of marriage before his death. They added two more children to the
family, Steve and Helen. The couple moved into Oakley in 1989. Their
house was always open for the grandkids and their friends to stop by.
Dorothy loved feeding them all and being called “grandma” by many.
Dorothy was an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, the Altar
Society, VFW, RSVP and Pleasant Hour Club. Never one to sit idle,
Dorothy volunteered for many things, some of those included delivering
Meals on Wheels, helping with commodities and Heartland Share, serving
on the Farm Bureau Board and organizing and serving funeral dinners. She
also made old-fashioned noodles for the Catholic and Methodist
churches. If you ever had a question about the history of Oakley,
Dorothy was the one to ask. She was an Oakley Historian and remembered
everyone.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Frank Flax and
Wilcid Racette; son, William Joseph Flax; sisters, Opal Bretz, Bertha
Joseph and Leila Burkhead and brothers, William Martin and infant John
Martin.
She is survived by her children, Mary (Larry) Heier, Colby, Steve
(Diann) Racette, Oakley and Helen (David) Herl, Grainfield;
sister-in-law, Lillian Martin; brother-in-law Tauscher Bretz;
grandchildren, Sarah (Alex) Toennis, Peter Heier, Joseph Heier, Regina
(Trent) Chriestenson, Micheline (PD) Huffman, Brent Ratzlaff, John
Racette, Jennifer Racette, Janell Racette, Shawn Beagley, Dexter Herl
(Tiffany Thomas), Derek (Kelsie) Herl, Kimberly (William) Kinderknecht,
Darius (Rachel) Herl and Chase Herl; seventeen great-grandchildren and
five great-great grandchildren.
Visitation is 5-7:00 p.m. Monday, November 24, 2020 at Baalmann
Mortuary, Oakley, with a Vigil at 7:00 p.m. Funeral Mass is 10:00 a.m.
Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Oakley, with
burial to follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery. Memorials are
suggested to St. Joseph School, in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box
204, Oakley, KS 67748. For condolences or information visit
www.baalmannmortuary.com