Dorothy Ecklund

Dorothy Hope Ecklund, 93, died Thursday, February 26, 2009 in MeritCare Hospital, Fargo, North Dakota. Dorothy was born September 30, 1915 in Crookston, Minnesota, to Tracy James Granger and Esther Dorothy (Peterson) Granger. The oldest of five children, she grew up and attended school in Fargo and Crookston, graduating from Crookston High School in 1934. Following graduation, she was employed by the Crookston telephone company. Dorothy married William Wishart Robson on June 29, 1940 in the Presbyterian Church in Crookston. They had three daughters, Tracey Ann, MaryAnn and Dorothy Ellen (Penny). In 1949, following Wishart’s death in a Royal Canadian Air Force crash, Dorothy moved with her daughters to Fargo. She was employed by J.C. Penney’s and The Prudential Insurance Company and was active in the First Presbyterian Church, where she taught Sunday School and was a member of Friendship Circle. Dorothy married Darwin Clark Ecklund on September 2, 1960. They were the third generation to live on the Ecklund Farm, located south of Harwood on the Sheyenne River. Dorothy embraced the farming life with enthusiasm and was an active member of Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church. She served as secretary to the principal of West Fargo High School from 1964-69. In 1988, the 99th year that the farm had been in the Ecklund family, Dorothy and Darwin retired and moved to Fargo. Dorothy is survived by her husband and two daughters, Tracey (Richard) Moorhead, Fargo, and MaryAnn (Gary) Pfeifer, Centennial, Colorado; a sister, Nancy Lee Prichard, Thief River Falls, Minnesota; a brother Peter Alan (Jeanette) Granger, Warroad, Minnesota; five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Robert Tracy, Jackson Lauren, and Gerald Eugene; and her daughter, Penny. Funeral Service: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, Fargo. Visitation: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, Fargo Burial: Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church Cemetery. Memorials: Please direct to charity of donor’s choice.