Dorothy is survived by her husband William, five children, their spouses, 24 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild; and one brother, Gene Erskine. She was preceded in death by her parents; one son, Steven Johansen; and brother, Melvin Erskine.
While in high school, Dorothy was chosen as prom queen, with attendants Ruth Anderson (Winstead) and MaryLou Parks (Whipple), whom the three ladies were still the closest of friends today.
Bill and Dorothy served three missions together for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. two missions at the Martin’s Cove Visitors Center in Wyoming and one mission at the LDS Employment Center in Riverton, Utah. Dorothy's entire life was filled with service to her family, friends, neighbors, and everyone she had an opportunity to work with.
Dorothy always sought ways to stay in touch with family and friends. A phone call, a letter, a card, a personal visit, a meal, or a gift was her way of keeping family ties strong. She worked on her genealogy for more than sixty years and left a legacy of family history stories for each of her descendants.
Dorothy never let a moment go by without working on a project for someone. Many of her quilts draped the pew backs in honor of her years of service. The crochet dresses made for granddaughters and great-granddaughters, the teddy bear baby blankets, doll dresses, any many more gifts she made for family and friends filled her heart with joy and leaves her family with a lasting legacy and reminder of her service.
One simple thing that brought great joy to Dorothy was a butterfly. Years ago, she had nursed an injured butterfly back to health. When the butterfly was ready to return to nature, the last moment was spent flying in circles around Mom. Her husband told her that the butterfly was telling her “thank you” for being so kind. That’s our mother, the kindest person we’ve ever known.
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