Dorothy Irene Stellner

Dorothy Irene Stellner, neé Pryor, was born on September 17, 1943, in Bozeman, Montana. At the time, the family owned a cattle ranch near Cardwell, Montana, where she spent the early years of her life. They later owned other Montana ranches near the towns of Bozeman and Big Timber.

Dorothy’s 63-year-long marriage to John David Stellner began on September 9, 1962 but she and john met through her sisters Marleen and Doris over two years earlier. John and Dorothy were married in Winslow, Arizona, and started their life together as young college students in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Their first two daughters, Doris and Jeanne, were born there in 1963 and 1964. Later they moved to southern California, and their youngest daughter Susanne, was born in Bakersfield in 1969. In 1970, the family moved to the two-mile-high city of Leadville, Colorado, following John’s lifelong interest and career in mining, and in 1978 to the famous cooper-mining city of Butte, Montana.

While in Leadville, Dorothy worked at St. Vincent’s hospital as a switchboard operator and later as a purchasing manager. In Butte she worked for the Montana School of Mining and Technology, known as Montana Tech. She later opened a daycare center in her home, and continued to provide child care as a home-based business for many years. Dorothy also earned an associate degree of science in applied nutrition while living in Elko, Nevada. John and Dorothy retired in 2008 and moved to Arizona in 2013.

Dorothy’s faith was in integral part of her life. Her daily activities were largely centered around relationship with God and her friendships with members of her church. She was active in charities that benefitted children and others in need. They had three daughters, seven grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren who were all a very important part of her everyday life.

Dorothy was a country girl at heart, and loved to be outdoors, walking rock hounding and collecting plants and flowers – she especially loved wildflowers. She often told the story of how her father never brought flowers for her mother. Instead, he would walk the fields and pick bunches of wildflowers for her. This was a very special memory for her. She loved interesting rocks and minerals and collected many everywhere she went. Her mineral collections filled shelves and lined the walkways of her home. Long walks in all kinds of weather ere her way to celebrate God’s creation in her daily life.

Dorothy is survived by her husband John, her three daughters, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as her sisters Marleen, Doris, and Barbie. She is preceded in death by her grandsons, Arik and Nicholas. She was blessed to leave this world in the comfort of her own home, in the loving presence of her husband and children. She will live in our hearts and memories until we all meet again in heaven.