OSAGE — Dorothy Doris Vance, 99, of Osage, died peacefully Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at Osage Rehabilitation and Health Care Center.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 5, at Osage Cemetery, where Dorothy will be laid to rest. Hoff Celebrations – Champion Chapel of Osage is assisting the family.
Dorothy was born January 20, 1927, on her family’s farm near St. Ansgar to Ralph and Vera Sonberg. She attended Wardell Country School and later graduated from St. Ansgar High School.
She met Joseph Vance at an Osage dance in 1949, and the couple married that November at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. They made their home on a farm near Little Cedar and raised four sons: John, Paul, Roger and Melvin. The couple later moved to Pasadena, California, before Dorothy returned to North Iowa following Joseph’s death in 1981. She eventually settled in Osage.
Dorothy treasured her family and kept close contact with relatives and friends through letters. She enjoyed crocheting blankets, tending African violets and other houseplants, collecting salt and pepper shakers, and taking bus trips with friends to Minnesota casinos.
Survivors include sons John, Paul and Melvin of Osage and Roger of Mitchell; grandchildren Rebecca Morenz, Jeffrey Vance and Thomas Vance; and great-grandchildren Sawyer Morenz and Sophia Vance. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, two grandchildren and several siblings and other relatives.
Hoff Celebrations – Champion Chapel of Osage is handling arrangements. To read more and see the full obituary, please click here.
If you would like an obituary, remembrance or tribute story published in NIT, please email the details to NORTHIOWATODAY@GMAIL.COM. This is a free service.