Doris Kragh

DORIS MARIE KRAGH was born on February 19, 1924, one of 11 children, to Bennie S. and Ella Olivia Brue. She grew up in Minneota and then the family moved to Tyler. At age 18, she began working in the kitchen at the Tyler Hospital and was shortly promoted to the job of head cook due to the prior cook’s sudden illness. She often commented on how she was thrown into that job at such a young age, and yet managed to fill the role. She often joked “Well I guess I never made anyone sick with my food!”. During this time, she made many new friends, and they all would ride together to dances at Lynd, MN. At one of these dances, she met the love of her life, Carl Whingelby, who asked her to dance, and the rest was history. They married on May 26, 1946, and she joined him as his partner on the family farm outside of Tyler. Despite the hard work on the farm, they enjoyed many outings with close friends and family. They were blessed with 3 children, Alice, Mary, and Paul. She was a devoted homemaker and farmwife, and later Carl’s rock of strength when their lives fell apart as Carl passed away at the age of 48 on December 10, 1965.

After Carl’s passing, Doris worked very hard to keep the family farm intact. She reentered the work force, initially at the Chat ‘n Chew for a short time, then as a secretary for Dr. L.W. Klein’s veterinary practice. In later years she then worked as a secretary for the Western Veterinary Clinic until her retirement.

She married Jes Kragh from Hendricks on Sept. 23, 1967. They had many good years together, and took many trips together across the United States and Hawaii. Jes was a good, quiet man who moved his extensive sheep herd to Doris’s family farm and worked diligently to keep the farm going and prosperous. They had 39 years together before Jes’s passing June 17th, 2007.

Doris remained on the farm for many years after Jes’s passing, tending to her beautiful gardens and working on her many craft projects. She was very creative and made beautiful grape vine wreaths, straw decorations, cross stitch works, corn husk dolls, and beautiful quilts for her children and grandchildren to treasure. She was active in many organizations, including the Red Hats, Danebod Quilters, Ladies Aid, Marshfield club, Cancer survivor meetings, and Relay for Life. She was a faithful member of Danebod Lutheran Church. She enjoyed playing 500 at the Senior Center weekly, and for a time was a volunteer driver for patients going out of town for medical treatments. She never forgot a birthday, anniversary, or a special occasion for her family and friends.

In the spring of 2016, Doris finally left her farm, and became a resident of Danebod Village, where she enjoyed the socialization, card games, and activities with her friends there. She even, at age 90’s, learned to play bridge and was a sub for the bridge club who came to the Village to play. When Danebod Village was closing down in 2020, she then moved to Boulder Estates in Marshall. She enjoyed her new apartment, and enjoyed meeting the residents and staff there and participating in their activities. Up until her final illness, she was still active on Facebook and emails with her family and friends, and learned how to Facetime with her children, grandchildren, and her great grandchildren (who called her “GG”).

After a brief illness, Doris passed away November 29th at the Avera Health Care Center, Granite Falls. Our family is so grateful for the wonderful and compassionate care they provided for her in her final days.

Doris is survived by her children, Alice (Randy Ploeger) Zimmer of Minnesota City, Mary (Greg) Volkart of Winona, and Paul (Dianna) Whingelby of Lynd. She is further survived by her 6 grandchildren, Anthony and Dustin Zimmer, Andy (Stesha) Volkart, Kim Volkart, Michelle (Josh) Kilgore, and Scott (Lisa) Kurvers Whingelby. She is also survived by her 4 great-grandchildren, Louis and Nina Volkart, and Howie and Earl Kilgore. She is also survived by her sisters, Arlene Friedrichs and Julia Bonneville, many beloved nieces & nephews, and a wide circle of friends, young and old, that meant the world to her. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Carl and Jes, 5 brothers, and 3 sisters.

She was so very excited of the building of the new RTR school for the future of the youths of the area, and always wanted to drive past it during the construction whenever she was out and about on a ride. If one wishes, memorials in her name can be directed to the RTR Education Foundation, or to the donor’s choice.

She had a wonderful life. Blessed be her memory.