Doris Arline Wehr

Doris Arline Lawson passed away peacefully on August 18, 2021, at Rosewood on Broadway in Fargo, North Dakota. She was born November 12, 1929, in Oneida, Illinois, the youngest of six children born to Elmer E. and Alice C. (nee Nelson) Lawson.

She attended Oneida Public Schools, graduating in 1947. In February of 1952, she enlisted in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois, as a Radio Maintenance Instructor.

She married Floyd E. Wehr on December 17, 1952, in Waverly, Iowa. She was Honorably Discharged from the United States Air Force in September 1954 and moved with Floyd to Tioga, North Dakota; where she worked as a service representative for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, a bookkeeper at the Bank of Tioga and sales associate for JC Penney’s. Doris was also a ham radio operator (WQWCP), a hobby she continued well into her life. Their first child, a son, Michael was born in August 1955. The family moved to Minot, North Dakota, in 1956, where their second child Patricia was born in June 1958. Doris became a stay-at-home mom involved with the children’s school activities and a Cub Scout Den Mother. In 1966 the family moved to Fargo, North Dakota, where she was involved in Michael’s sports activities and known in the neighborhood for building a skating rink in the backyard for the neighborhood kids to play. She was a Girl Scout leader and an Avon representative. As Patty’s love of horses grew, the family purchased an Appaloosa. Doris became a full time “tack” manager and would drive “Ole Bleu”, the Chevy pick-up & horse trailer to take Patty to Horse shows in North Dakota and Minnesota and several trips to the North Dakota State Fair in Minot, North Dakota. She also designed and sewed all of Patty’s elaborate Western Pleasure riding jackets for the horse shows.

Doris and Floyd started bowling at Red River Lanes in 1969. She became an avid bowler, joining 3 Leagues. Even though Doris was petite, she threw a “heavy” ball knocking over any pin in front of her. In 1992 she qualified and bowled at the American Bowling Congress 89th Senior Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1994 she received the Senior Kegler Award and in 1995 she was twice named the FMWBA Seniors Tournament Champion and qualified for the 1995 Nationals in Tucson, Arizona. The ladies also gathered for weekly walks, bible study, and playing golf. After assisting Patty with a college class, she became fascinated with genealogy leading her to do extensive research on the Wehr & Lawson families. She joined a number of genealogical societies to help make contacts in Germany and England. The World Wide Web really expanded her research capabilities, she could do independent research 24/7, which she did.

In 2013, after a fall in her home, she went to Rosewood on Broadway for rehabilitation, and with the sudden passing of her husband, she became a full-time resident, living there until her death.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Floyd; her parents, Elmer and Alice; her three brothers Ellsworth, Kenneth and Ronald; two sisters Margaret and Helen. She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Denise Wehr; daughter and son-in-law, Patricia and Sam Hales; 3 grandchildren, Sarah and A. Minor Baker, Andrew and Shannon Wehr, Elizabeth Wehr and J. Scott King, and 6 great-grandchildren, Sawyer, Jack, Finn, and Phoebe Baker, and Otto and Adaline Wehr.

The family extends heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the staff at Rosewood on Broadway for the loving care provided to Doris during her time as a resident. And the overwhelming support and consideration to the family during her comfort care phase this summer as family were able to visit with her numerous times to say our goodbyes.