Ellen I. Dooley

Ellen was born October 11, 1925 in Madison County, Iowa; the daughter of Thomas J. and Agnes C. (Donahoe) Wiedmann. She was a graduate of Patterson High School. She married Jim Dooley on February 7, 1949 in Des Moines, Iowa at St. Ambrose Cathedral. Ellen is survived by her husband, Jim Dooley of Martensdale, IA; ten daughters, Terri (Larry) Henson of Martensdale, IA, Rosemary (Ron) Allsup of Winterset, IA, Dee Armstrong of Adel, IA, Jodi (Ted) Murphy of Winterset, IA, Ginger (Neal) Tribby of St. Marys, IA, Margie (Chuck) Gehringer of St. Marys, IA, Joanne (Bryan) Hartman of Mediapolis, IA, Nancy (Dean) Ross of Van Meter, IA, Carol (Dan) Weltner of Sumner, IA, and Denise Dooley of Albuquerque, NM; three sons, Mick Dooley of Lexington, KY, Kevin (Pam) Dooley of Denver, CO, and Tim (Tammy) Dooley of Omaha, NE; one sister, Margaret (Lewis) McLaughlin of Cumming, IA, 28 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, Mary Strable and Alice Harkin; two brothers, Thomas Wiedmann and Pat Wiedmann; and a grandson, Thomas Gehringer. Ellen was a homemaker. She worked for Equitable Life Company in Des Moines for a time and along with her husband co-owned and ran Dooley’s Tavern in West Des Moines for 10 years. Ellen also founded and operated the Bread Shed serving fried bread at the Covered Bridge Festival for 30 years. Ellen was a member of the Assumption Parish in Churchville, Iowa where she was active in the Altar and Rosary Society. She was a great cook, loved to dance, and enjoyed playing pool and bowling, but most of all she was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Visitation: 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., Sunday October 31, 2004 at the St. John's Catholic Church Hall, Cumming, Iowa Service: 11:00 a.m., Monday November 1, 2004 at the St. Patrick's Irish Settlement Church Memorial: Memorials made in Ellen's honor may be directed to a organization of the donors choice.