Rowley, Dora Mae

Dora Mae Rowley, aged 90 of Mineral Point, died on June 12, 2023 at a Madison hospital, two months shy of her 91st birthday.  

She was our beloved Mother and Grandmother and her passing has left a hole in our hearts and a void in our lives. We know how fortunate we were to have such an amazing mother and that we had the benefit of her steadfast love and support for over 90 years. She was proud of our accomplishments and supportive of our dreams and ambitions. She was a wonderful listener, and we always felt better after a good talk with her. She had strong convictions and was an active and interested participant in life until the very end.  

Dora was the 3rd of 11 children. She grew up on a farm just West of Mineral Point near present day Ludden Lake. She attended Diamond Grove school as a child, then attended Mineral Point High School where she sang in the choir and performed in several other music groups. After graduating high school in 1950, she moved to town and lived in a flat on Jail Alley and worked at Burgess Battery. In 1954, she married the man who adored her, Burnell C. Rowley. She lived in the home they built in Mineral Point until her death.   

For many years she was active in the Congregational United Church of Christ and used her superb organizational skills to plan and carry out Cornish pasty sale fundraisers.   

Politically progressive, she was a proponent of voter registration, especially for woman and young people, and believed in caring for children, the elderly, the poor, and people with disabilities.  

As a young mother, she was a prodigious gardener, cultivating a large vegetable garden, berry bushes, grape vines, and fruit trees. She preserved much of her produce for her family. She later became an avid flower gardener and ignored her husband when he teased that he could not eat flowers. She loved song birds and butterflies and built a large garden for them 10 years ago. As she grew older and slowed down, her children bought her a golf cart and she could frequently be seen tooling around her property visiting and caring for her various gardens. She loved to go birdwatching and was delighted to catch sight of a bald eagle, sandhill cranes, or geese flying in formation over her house. She loved books and was a voracious reader. She read to her children, grandchildren and several of the neighborhood children.  

As a child of the great depression, she developed a strong work ethic and held many jobs over the years including Borg Electronics, several greenhouses, Mineral Point High School, the A&W, and the Hodan Center. Mostly, she worked alongside her husband in their construction business, building many houses in Mineral Point and Southwest Wisconsin. Burnell often said he did not know what he would do without her. In her last 30 years, she also helped care for her medically fragile grandson, Mitchell. They shared a sweet and special relationship full of laughter and shared interests.   

Dora is survived by her children: Alan (Patti), Texas; Barbara Moroney, Kansas City, MO; Marcia (Robert) Kasieta, Verona, WI; Linda Rowley, Mineral Point, WI; Karen (Paul) Sabatini, Raymore, MO; and David (Jody) Rowley, Milton, WI; 15 grandchildren: Benjamin, Angela, Christopher, Daniel, Alanna, Andrew,  and Joshua Rowley; Matthew Moroney; Caitlyn Sikorski and Kelly O'Boyle, Mitchell Hamilton; Francesca and Cassandra Sabatini; and Taryn and Michael Rowley; and 12 great grandchildren. She will also be missed by her Cuban puppy, Coco, who she referred to as her fifth daughter.  Coco brought her peace, joy, and much laughter. 

She is further survived by her siblings: Earl (Betty) Dobson of UT, Harry (Mary) Dobson of CA, Bill (Susan) Dobson of IL, Dean (Faith) Dobson of AZ, Lois Dobson of CO, Becky (Ron) Kelle of AZ; and her sister-in-law El Dobson of IL.   

She was preceded in death by her parents, Willard and Rachel (Jackson) Dobson of Mineral Point, her beloved husband, Burnell Clayton Rowley, her sisters Rose Etta Dobson and Wilma Tremelling, brothers John (Bud) Dobson and Andy Dobson, brother-in-law Glen Tremelling, sister-in-law, Helen Dobson, and son-in-law, Steve Moroney.  

A Visitation will be held on Friday, June 23 from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the Gorgen Funeral Home in Mineral Point.  A family burial will be held in Graceland Cemetery at a later date. 

The family encourages contributions to organizations Dora supported, including the Hodan Center, 941 Fountain St, Mineral Point, WI 53565, and the Badger Prairie Needs Network, 1200 E Verona Ave, Verona, WI 53593.  

Gorgen Funeral Home

www.gorgenfh.com