Dorothy M. Hocking

DOROTHY MARIE HOCKING was born December 29, 1929, the only child of Levi Guemmer and Frances Engel at Moe Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She was baptized and confirmed in Wellington Lutheran Church of rural Parker, South Dakota. Raised on Guemmer’s Corner south of Humboldt, SD, she attended all eight grades at District 71 country school and then graduated from Humboldt High School in 1948. Dorothy was united in marriage to Conrad James Perkins at Parker, South Dakota on June 17, 1951. Dorothy and Conrad began raising their four sons first in Parker and then on the family farm in rural Turner County, South Dakota until Conrad’s death in 1966. Dorothy moved to Ellsworth, Minnesota after marrying Kenneth Hocking in 1969. During her life Dorothy was an active member of the First English Lutheran Church in Parker and St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne, Minnesota.

On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, Dorothy died peacefully at the Parkview Manor in Ellsworth at the age of 89 years and five months.

Art and music were interests of Dorothy from early childhood. She loved both classical and popular music and was an accomplished pianist who played in her father’s dance band for a short time. Another love was painting with oils and watercolors. One of her paintings was even chosen for the cover of the January/February 1999 issue of South Dakota Magazine and in 2010 she was a featured artist at the Carnegie Cultural Center in Luverne. Dorothy produced many paintings on commission for friends and family and her skilled painting portraitures were widely recognized. She also taught art courses for children and seniors through community education.

Dorothy had many friends and cherished her relationships with Marlin and JoAnn, Mary, the round table gang at the Ellsworth Cafe, and she looked forward to frequently seeing high school classmates. She adored her cats, enjoyed gardening and never missed watching an old movie.

She is survived by her four sons, James (Sylvia Tiala) Perkins of Menomonie, Wisconsin, Mark (Kathy) Perkins of Ellsworth, John (Nicolette Yevich) Perkins of Columbia, Missouri, David (Geneva) Perkins of Gilbert, Arizona; four grandchildren, Jill Perkins (Fred Kreider) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Max Perkins (Angie Hellmann Perkins) of Seattle, Washington, Madison Perkins and Megan Perkins of Gilbert; brother in-law, Delbert Perkins of Battle Ground, Washington; and a step-son, Kent Hocking of Minneapolis. She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Conrad Perkins and Kenneth Hocking; cousin, June “Mickey” Clausen Wentzel with whom she was very close throughout her life; and three step-sons, Gary Hocking, Keith Hocking, and Kevin Hocking.