Cherokee Chronicle Times

Dorothy Ann Charlene Tietgen


Dorothy Ann Charlene Tietgen, 90, of Aurelia, Iowa, went to her heavenly home on August 15th, 2022.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, August 19, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa.  Burial will be made in the Good Hope Cemetery, rural Cherokee, Iowa.  Pastor Jeff Harris will officiate.  Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 18, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with the family present form 5-7:00 p.m. and again on Friday from 1:30 p.m. until service time at the Boothby Funeral Home.   Services will be livestreamed on the Boothby Funeral Home website through the assistance of Fuller Digital Solutions. Online condolences may be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to Donna Barr, 8004 NE 74th Terrace, Kansas City, Missouri 64158., to be placed in the Jaden York Trust.

Dorothy Ann was born on August 16, 1931 in Cherokee, Iowa to Louis and Ruth (Sellden) Bengtson.  She attended Country School-Diamond #3 for six years and graduated from Aurelia High School in 1949.  She went on to attend Wayne State College and received her teaching degree. 

While at college, Dorothy met the love of her life, Don Tietgen.  They were united in marriage on August 16, 1951 in Cherokee at the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.  Don and Dorothy settled in Pierce, Nebraska, where Dorothy taught Kindergarten and Don taught shop and coached basketball for a year.  They then moved to Iowa and farmed for many years south of Aurelia.  This is where they raised their four children, Donna, Randy, Mike, and Steve.

Dorothy was a very loving and dedicated wife and mother.  She helped on the farm and was a great mother to her kids.  She was a long time member of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School and was active in Ladies’ Aid. 

Over the years Dorothy worked at Royer’s Jewelry and Hoffman’s Flower Shop.  She owned and managed the House of Treasures in Aurelia.  She sold gift items and created flower arrangements.  Dorothy and Joanne Nelson started their own fun business called “Candy Delights”, where they demonstrated at home parties and sold chocolate and molds.  Dorothy was honored to bake delicious cookies, bars, and breads for the two Aurelia banks for their Christmas open houses. 

Dorothy loved to cook and bake. She delighted in hosting dinner parties for family and friends everyone could always feel her warmth and kindness. She could often be found delivering a pan of her yummy brownies or a bowl of her Swedish rice pudding to friends and neighbors.  She was very creative and spent her spare time flower arranging, painting, quilting, and making angels.

Dorothy enjoyed attending her kids and grandkids ball games and activities.  She loved spending time with her Birthday Club, filled with wonderful Christian women who supported and encouraged each other for so many years.  Dorothy was also blessed to be a part of the Oscar and Linnea Gustafson family. They adopted the Tietgen family after we lost Dorothy’s parents and nephew in a car/truck accident in 1971.  We all became a part of the beautiful Gustafson family, celebrating life events with them!

Dorothy loved all of her friends and family.  She enjoyed life and left a beautiful legacy of love.

Dorothy is survived by her children, Donna (Smokey) Barr of Kansas City, Randy (Sheila) Tietgen of Sioux Center, Iowa, Mike (Lesley) Tietgen of Alta Monte Spring, Florida, and Steve (Molly) Tietgen of Destin, Florida; her 9 grandchildren, Julie (Brandon) York, Ryan (Katie) Barr, Sarah (Jason) Schroeder, Brittney (Cory) Vander Lugt, Blake (Stephanie) Bruns, Bailey (Evan) Jensen, Tonya (Charles) Reynolds, Tatem (Dan) Morrow, and Tristan Tietgen; her 10 great grandchildren, Kirsten, Jaden, Jett, Tenley, Tate, Kinzer, Keira, Rylan, Ryker, and Lucas; cousin, Bruce (Ruthanne) Bengtson; niece, Kristin Bonfigt, and many other relatives and friends. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Ruth Bengtson; her husband Don; her brother, Dennis Dean Bengtson; her sister, Delores Mueller; her brother-in-law, James Mueller; her nephew, Greg Mueller; her cousins, Barb Waters Arneman and Carl and Fran Sellden; her in-laws, Don’s brothers and sisters, Grant and Laverne Tietgen, Mel and Irene Ehrhardt, DeWayne and Gladys Van Auker, Wayne and Mable Tietgen, Al and Val Tietgen, and Lee and Shirley Tietgen.  

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