Dorothy Mae Wheeler, 80, Hills, formerly of Sioux Falls, S.D., died Wednesday, July 9. 2003, at Tuff Memorial Home in Hills.Services were Tuesday, July 15, at George Boom Funeral Home in Sioux Falls. Burial was at Beaver Valley Lutheran Cemetery, rural Valley Springs, S.D.Dorothy Baker, was born to Neal and Catherine (Dirkson) Baker on July 25, 1922, in Rock Valley, Iowa. As a child, she lived with her family in Volga, S.D. She graduated from Washington High School, Sioux Falls, in 1940. She married Pershing Elofson on June 7, 1942, in Valley Springs. Mr. Elofson died on Dec. 4, 1956. She worked at S&L store in Sioux Falls. She moved to Sioux Falls in 1965. She was the first female to serve as a Constable with Minnehaha County for several years. She married Jay Wheeler on March 4, 1978, in Rapid City, S.D. Following Mr. Wheeler’s death on Dec. 15, 1978, she returned to Sioux Falls. She worked as a hostess for Smitty’s Pancake House and Perkins Restaurant before retiring in 1997 after 27 years of service. Mrs. Wheeler attended First Lutheran Church and was a former member of the VFW Auxiliary. She loved to play cards and enjoyed bowling. Survivors include one daughter, Karen (Stanley) Gehrke, Beaver Creek; three grandchildren, Karmen (Paul) Thompson, Lead, S.D., Michael Gehrke, Beaver Creek, and Ronda (Greg) Skorr, Jasper; six great grandchildren, Amber, Joshua and Mathew Thompson, all of Lead, Emilie Gehrke and Katelyn Skorr, both of Jasper, Lacey Skorr, Owatonna; a sister-in-law, Ethelyn Gulseth, Brandon, S.D.; and seven stepchildren, Judy Lewis, Sacramento, Calif., Carol Molina, Daly City, Calif., Barbara Cuccio, Diamond Bar, Calif., Dan Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Mark Wheeler and Gail King, all of Sioux Falls. Mrs. Wheeler was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands, a grandson, Mark Gehrke, one brother, Fred Baker, and two sisters, Marion Hemingson and Lorraine Davis. George Boom Funeral Home, Sioux Falls, was in charge of arrangements.
