Obituary of Dorothy Sampson

A Funeral Service for Dorothy Sampson, age 86, of Spirit Lake will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at 2:00pm at the Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Visitation will take place prior to the service from 1:00-2:00pm at the funeral home in Spirit Lake. 

Dorothy Elaine Sampson, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on March 17, 2024, at Happy Siesta Health Center in Remsen, Iowa, at the age of eighty-six. She was at Happy Siesta only five days before her passing.

She was born on June 21, 1937, to Ellen and Harry Pierce. Dorothy was raised in Rodman and Emmetsburg, Iowa, alongside her seven siblings. It was in Spencer, Iowa, where she met the love of her life, Byron Sampson, at a dance. The couple exchanged vows on August 17, 1958 beginning a journey of love and companionship that spanned sixty-five years. Dorothy dedicated herself to raising their five daughters and supporting her husband on the family farm.

Following their retirement, Dorothy and Byron enjoyed traveling to Florida, Texas and Mississippi. Dorothy was known for her exceptional cooking skills, particularly her delicious pies. Dorothy and Byron enjoyed polka dancing, especially at grandchildren’s weddings. Dorothy was a card shark, playing many rounds of the card game golf with family calling people “Dirty Bird” if they happened to beat her.  She also had a passion for golf and shared many memorable rounds with family and friends, achieving two holes in one.

Dorothy will be remembered and deeply missed by her husband of 65 years, Byron Sampson; daughters Jan Schimmer, Julie Pape, Jennifer Meyer, Karen Raymond and Karmen Staples; twelve grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Ellen Pierce; brothers, Lester, Leonard, Ernest and Donald and sisters, Ruth Lammers, Hazel Hynes and Delores Westergard.

All memorials will go towards Veteran’s Services.