Eldores M "Dores" Allan

Eldores Maurine Pearson Allan

On Wednesday, January 27, we will celebrate “a life lived well” for Eldores Pearson Allan at 2 PM at the United Church of Christ Church (Congregational) in Yankton, SD. It will be a gathering to celebrate a woman who graced our presence with her classiness, creativity, and unending generosity. She was 91 years young! The Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home & Crematory, Yankton, SD is assisting with the service details. On-line condolences may be sent at: www.opsahl-kostelfuneralhome.com.

Her humble life began on August 4, 1924 in Hartford, SD. Her father and his brothers set up dairy operations in the Crooks/Hartford area. The family was known for their strong work ethic and for their generosity in providing food and a safe place for settlers to stay as they moved across South Dakota. Her father was a dairy farmer and a carpenter. Her mother could sew, smock, or darn anything. They were a family who were bound by a strong faith and service to help others.

The family built and did much of the wood carving and craftsmanship in a little white church that stands on a beautiful hilltop northwest of Sioux Falls, SD, where each of the family homesteads could be viewed. The church still stands today, with all of its beauty and rich Swedish history. Dores took great pride in her Swedish heritage.

She was the youngest child of 5. One sister still lives in Seattle, WA. Dores attended the Hartford, SD public schools and graduated from Washington High School in Sioux Falls, SD. She was a popular girl and was crowned Hartford’s Corn Queen after a bountiful harvest her senior year. She and one of her sisters look like twins. They often found it fun to switch identities and go on each other’s dates!

When asked about her philanthropy throughout her life, Dores would say, “It is our job to love and serve mankind. No matter who or for what circumstance.” She would say, “Just as in the love that Jesus showed when he washed the feet of men, our service should be the same because we never know whose feet we are washing. It could be a person’s last breath or it could be a person about to change mankind. It is our job to care for each other.”

Doris began her education at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. During this time she also worked as a nurse’s aide at Sioux Valley Hospital and was also a dental assistant for the amazing Dr. “Pete.” Her sense of service, love of people, and desire to comfort people were examples of her grace. After completing a teaching and art degree at Yankton College, she began teaching in the Yankton Public Schools. She also completed her Master’s in Special Education at the University of South Dakota while raising her 3 children, teaching, and being heavily involved in the community. She taught special education and elementary classes at Beadle School.

Her classroom was like a wonderland. It was adorned with children’s artwork everywhere you could look, colorful bulletin boards taught lessons and recognized every students’ successes, and learning centers drew you in because they stimulated all of one’s senses and made learning fun. There were plants, turtles, big pillows, and felt boards. It was a classroom which enticed a student to learn.

She promoted reading at home and at school before the recognition of this importance today. She would teach her students their lessons by incorporating art. And, she was a stickler for how to hold writing instruments correctly. She taught for 30 years, but with a person such as herself, the teaching never ended and she continued to impact people’s lives of every age for the rest of her days.

Love and devotion were given freely. The love of her life was her husband, Don. They were married in 1946 after a malt shop proposal when he returned as a war hero from WWII. They were a couple who thrived together raising their 3 children, advanced their careers, and serving the community. Don died in December 2001. His passing left a great void in her life. Two children also died at birth. For her, their deaths solidified her compassion in helping others.

Her surviving children are Peggy (Roger) Thompson, Yankton; Scott Allan, Sioux Falls, SD; Susan (Kris) Marvin, Humboldt, IA. Her grandchildren are Travis (Courtney) Thompson, Elkhorn, NE with Olivia and Elly; Tracey (James) Grotenhuis, Yankton with Cooper and Mac; Matthew (Rachel) Schuch, Iowa City; Andrew Schuch, Orlando FL.

She was artistic from head to toe! She loved all types of stitchery, oil/watercolor painting, decorating, and sewing. Any old plain note was an artistic presentation with calligraphy and some little sketch. There are many homes that are graced with her hot pads! She could mend anything! Her special touch in mending was how she would adorn the site with a butterfly, ladybug, or daisy. Our dad was a trendsetter with a ladybug on his tennis shorts!

If we were to list the many organizations she served on, the awards she won, and the many ways she created positive growth and change for Yankton residents, it would take a majority of this obituary page. She wasn’t the bragging type, but here are a few. She and her husband were Captain and Belle of Yankton Riverboat Days in 1991 and Citizens of the Year in 2001. That meant a great deal to both of them.

The Yankton community benefitted from the impact she made in serving on many boards and in providing leadership to such organizations as the community library, Yankton College, Mount Marty, Community Concert Board, the Yankton Community Forum, PEO Chapter CO, SD Education Association, Girl Scouts of America, Delta Kappa Gamma, AAUW, Federated Women’s Club, Joseph Ward Questers, church, the American Red Cross, book clubs, the American Cancer Society, Yankton Retired Teachers, SD high school gymnastics judge, hospital volunteering, participation in the Lewis and Clark Playhouse, plays at Yankton College, and so much more. Our entire household started speaking with a Swedish accent when she played a lead role in “I Remember Mama.”

Back in the 1960’s, many Saturday mornings were spent with our neighbor, Wynn Speece of WNAX, doing her radio show from our kitchen. Those were the days where Saturday morning coffees and the sisterhood of homemaking was strong and valued. Dores was also the responsible for the WNAX Annual Art Show which became a prestigious presentation of area artists.

Providing leadership to restore and develop Yankton’s Cramer Kenyon Home was a labor of love for Dores. She also started the Parade of Trees. In recent years she presented a one woman play call “The Swedish Bag Lady.” It was her goal to remind people of the importance of family, acceptance of others, and living a productive life with humor.

One of her last satisfying achievements was to get a stop sign installed at the corner of Mulberry and 21st Street. After “visiting” with a police officer about driving regulations as she was speeding to Bible study, it became her mission to put in place a stop sign that promotes public safety by the junior high school.

As her children, we do not grieve her loss, for she lived an extraordinary life. She is with our dad and siblings, loved ones and friends who have preceded her passage. She’s playing bridge and making fudge. Just as it ought to be.

Memorials are directed to: Dores Allan Memorial Fund, 2319 Valley Rd., Yankton, SD 57078