Dorothy Herkenratt

Dorothy Chester Herkenratt, aged 89 years, 8 months, and 24 days, died at her home in Faribault on Thursday, July 16, 2015.

Visitation will be held at the Parker Kohl Funeral Home & Crematory of Faribault on Saturday, July 25, 2015 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Private Family services will be held. Interment will be held at the Groveland Cemetery in Dundas, MN at a later date.

Dorothy Ann Chester was born in Northfield on October 22, 1925 to Edward Ogden and Ethel May Orr Chester and grew up on their farm on the edge of Dundas. She graduated as valedictorian from the Dundas Public School, third in class from Northfield High School, attended Carleton College majoring in Greek with minor in Philosophy and Religion, with additional courses at the University of Minnesota. Her first career was in banking and insurance at The First National Bank of Northfield and her second in the field of education with St. James School where she served as both headmaster's secretary and financial secretary and with Shattuck-St. Mary's School where she served as both the executive secretary to the headmaster and as an officer on the Board of Trustees until her retirement in 1993. During the latter time she received several honors and awards: made a life member of the St. James Mothers' Association in 1971; made an honorary Jamie of the Class of 1972; received the Marvin W. Horstman Loyalty Award for Outstanding Service to the School by unanimous choice of the Board of Trustees, the faculty and student body in 1972; made an honorary member of the Shattuck Class of 1937 at their 50th Anniversary in 1987; named the Shattuck-St. Mary's Employee of the Year in 1987; received the Meritorious Service Award in 1992; and an Appreciation Award for Outstanding Service to the Board and the School in 1993. On June 15, 1992 she received the ISACS (Independent Schools Association of the Central States) Award for Contribution to Independent Education in recognition of her contributions to the field of independent education during her many years at St. James and Shattuck-St. Mary's Schools. She received the EMERA Award for Service from the Order of the Eastern Star in 2011 and a Certificate of Appreciation from Athens Chapter #82 OES fro sixty-five years of service in 2012. Following her retirement, she continued pursuing her interests in writing and genealogy, having published short stories, poems and family histories. In 1954 she won an international short story contest sponsored by The Peoples Book Club and The Sears Readers Club with a story telling about the family's traditional plum pudding made and served at Christmas, the recipe for which had been handed down in the family from Queen Victoria's grandmother, a common ancestor. She transcribed, indexed and published Parish Records of The Church of the Holy Cross, Dundas, Minn. 1865 - 1886; researched and wrote the Rice County Historical Society Collections Management Policy; did background research for, wrote sections of, and edited Seventy-Five Years Of Preserving The Past For The Future - Rice County Historical Society 1926-2001; wrote and published Rice Gleanings for the Rice County Genealogical Society; and completed the research for the publication of several genealogical records including: William Arthur Chester 1779 -1828 of Naseby, Northamptonshire, England and His Descendants With His Wife Amelia Perrin 1790-1877 and Her Descendants With Her Second Husband John Fretter Who Came to America in 1833 With Amelia Perrin Chester Fretter and Her Children: William Charles, John Cooke, Job J., Reuben and Matilda Chester & Elizabeth "Betsy" and Lucy Fretter and His Son Thomas Fretter: Also Eight Generations of Chesters Beginning With Thomas of England Through William Arthur 1779-1828 (including some allied families of Jeffries, Covert, Ogden, Spriggs and Cheney); Descendants of Jacob Herkenrath (1821-1873) and Maria Niebels (1838-1863) Who Came From Germany in 1854 and Settled in Rice County before 1857; and 2nd Wife Catherine Doffing, and 3rd Wife Maria Schonfer; Some Descendants of Lieut. William Clark Who Arrived at Nantasket in America on the Mary and John in 1630, Settled in Dorchester, Mass. and Helped Found Northampton, Mass. in 1659; and Our Drake Lineage Through Joseph Drake 1717-1785, The Son of Bampfylde Drake, Rector of Farway, Devon Co., Eng., Who Came As A Stowaway to New Amsterdam in the New World. She nearly completed the research on the Taylor-Saunders and the Orr-Taylor lines. She also did the research and background information for lifetime memberships for herself and Richard in the MN Territorial Pioneers and completed The Great Grandparents Project for the Chester-Jeffries, Covert-Ogden, Orr-Anderson, Taylor-Borthwick, Herkenratt-Neibels, Herreman-Robinson, Drake-Clark and Taylor-Saunders lines for herself and Richard.

Dorothy was descended from several of the influential early Rice County pioneer families: Job and Anne Jeffries Chester (Anne being the first white woman to live in Bridgewater Township and whose grandmother was sister to Queen Victoria's mother); the Hon. Joseph and Sarah Frances Ogden Covert; William Blackmore and Mary Borthwick Taylor (William being the first millwright/miller brought by the Archibalds to build the Dundas mills and whose daughter, Clara Elizabeth "Dolly" Taylor Orr, was the first white child born in Dundas); and Harriet Ann Anderson Orr and her son John Harvey Orr who married Dolly Taylor.

Dorothy was a member of The Church of the Holy Cross in Dundas, having been Vice President and President of the Young People's Fellowship, member of the church choir and long time Sunday and Bible School teacher; a member of The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour and former Sunday and Bible School teacher; a member and officer of Sheba Chapter #73 OES and of Athens Chapter #82 OES; a member and former committee chair of the Rice County Historical Society; a member and an officer of the Rice County Genealogical Society; a life member of the Minnesota Territorial Pioneers, a member of Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Genealogical Society, The New England Historic Genealogical Society, The Federation of Genealogical Societies, the International Genealogical Society, the National Geographic Society, the Planetary Society, and Davlins KaleidoClub. She has also been listed in Empire Who's Who, United Who's Who, Madison's Who's Who, Great Minds of the 21st Century, and The National Association of Professional Women.

Dorothy was married to Richard Milton Herkenratt at The Church of the Holy Cross in Dundas on June 17, 1951. After her marriage, she moved from Northfield to Shady Lane Farm, the original Drake homestead in Bridgewater Township, where she remained until moving with the family to Faribault in 1961. She is survived by two daughters, Susan Margaret Herkenratt Kaderlik and husband Leonard and Sally Ann Herkenratt Budde and husband Martin; and son, Brian Richard Herkenratt. She is also survived by former daughter-in-law Cozette Helgeson Herkenratt Peterson and husband Mark; her granddaughters Martha Jane Budde Rosett LaVoi (Jason), Brenda Jean Budde Strom (Andrew), Angela Marie Herkenratt Finnegan, Jennifer Lea Herkenratt and Vicki Lynn Herkenratt Ruscin (Nicholas); great-grandchildren twins Joseph Martin and Brandon Alan Rosett and Caydon Jeffrey Budde, Michael Allen Malecha III and Andrew Wayne Strom, Isaac Allen and Hannah Lisa Finnegan, Devon Martin Keith Hagel, and Elliot Marlee Ruscin; step-granddaughters Barbara Budde Blankenship (Brian) and Julia Kenitzer; step-great-grandchildren Alexys Blankenship, Hope LaVoi, Madison and Allyson Strom, Maya and Lucy Ruscin, and Riley Kenitzer; brother and sisters-in-law John William and June Fredrickson Chester and Carol Beckman (Mrs. Robert) Herkenratt; as well as several nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and -nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her husband; parents; sister Marie Ethel Chester and husbands Milton Arthur Wilson and Col. Romaine S. Foss (U.S. Army Ret.); sister-in-law Margaret Jean Herkenratt and husband Edward Carlyle Wood; and brothers-in-law Harry Sumner Herkenratt and wives Helen McCloskey and Geraldine Baddgor Kendrick, and Robert Joseph Herkenratt.

The family would like to thank the Northfield Hospital Hospice, Deacon Bonnie Holt and Father Heny Doyle for their care of and loving ministry and prayers for Dorothy and her family, and all of the friends and family who called, visited and brought food and flowers for her to enjoy while she was on hospice.