Delores Krohn

Delores Krohn, "Dee" to everyone, went to her heavenly home at age 92 on April 11, 2025. She loved the Lord and was looking forward to going to see Him.

Dee was born to Arnold and Esther Koepke on June 20, 1932, in a farmhouse in western Minnesota in Lac qui Parle County, not too far from Watertown, South Dakota, where she was raised. She was their first child, followed by another daughter and two sons. After completing high school in New Ulm, MN, Dee graduated from Swedish School of Nursing, located in Minneapolis, in 1953. Shortly after graduation, on August 1, 1953, she married Donald Krohn in Watertown. They lived in Lewistown, Mankato MN, Miles City, Bozeman and Idaho Falls ID before settling in Billings in 1960. Dee worked as an RN at hospitals in the towns where they lived, including in Billings at St Vincent's from 1960 to 1969 and at Deaconess from 1980 to 1994.

Dee was Mom to Kevin, Michael, Joel, Jeffrey and Naomi. After Naomi was born in 1969 Dee stayed home through the 1970's to take care of their kids and also did in-home day care for a number of those years. Dee was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church since 1960, where she was active in LWML for many years. All of their children attended Trinity Lutheran School and Billings Senior High.

They often went tent camping near Red Lodge and along the Boulder River, and with four young boys that made for many adventures. In later years after their sons were off being engineers, Dee and Don and Naomi went camping with trailers which made for a more civilized experience. They often had get-togethers with the Ketterlings, including camping but also pinochle nights, local theater and pot luck dinners. Travel was usually camping or visits to family in Minnesota and South Dakota, but Dee and Don did partake of a European tour in fall 2000.

Dee was adept at crafts, and sewed clothes for her children through the years, as well as crocheting, quilting and making Christmas ornaments. She also helped with the family garden at the Billings house where they have lived since 1964, and enjoyed canning and freezing produce and jellies. Mike remembers her spending hours canning on a warm day in September 1969, then going to the hospital that afternoon and giving birth to Naomi! She cooked when not at work, including venison and antelope when available to stretch their budget. Dee was an avid reader until her vision failed in her final years. Don would read articles and devotions to her on a daily basis, and Mike would stream books for her through a computer-TV setup.

In addition to her parents, Dee was preceded in death by son Jeffrey (1971), young brother Dennis (~1943), brother Lloyd (2003) and daughter-in-law Linda (2023).

Dee is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 71 years Don, her dear sister Betty Witt, four children, her children's loving spouses , 15 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Three of her granddaughters are nurses, of which Dee was very proud.

Visitation will be at Trinity Lutheran Church, 537 Grand Ave, Billings, on Wednesday, April 16, starting about 10:00 AM, with a service to follow at 11:00 AM. There will be a light lunch at the church following the service. Interment with family will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Billings.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Dee's honor may be directed to Trinity Lutheran School and/or Church.