Elsie Paulsen

Elsie Marie Dinkla was born south of Wiota, Iowa, on July 15, 1924, to Poppe Remmer and Bertha (Duden) Dinkla and passed away July 11, 2013, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, Iowa.

She was baptized and confirmed at the First Lutheran Church south of Wiota. She attended Pleasant Dell Country School in Union Township, through the 4th grade and after it closed, due to an insufficient number of students, she then attended the Gold Hill Country School in Franklin Township, through the 8th grade. Elsie graduated from the Wiota High School in 1942. She was a member of the Wiota girls' basketball team that played in the State Tournaments in 1940, 1941, and 1942. The team was the state runner-up in 1942. Several months before graduation, Elsie was hired as a secretary for the Jones and Cambridge Law Firm of Atlantic, where she begin working as soon as she graduated.

On May 19, 1945, Elsie was united in marriage to Wayne Paulsen at the home of her parents north of Massena, by the Rev. E. M. Kirschenman of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, south of Wiota. The couple lived on and farmed the same farm northwest of Atlantic all their married life of 60 years. She greatly enjoyed helping Wayne with the farming and their livestock business. Elsie was especially fond of vegetable and flower gardening and doing yard work. She did a lot of canning and freezing of their garden products and did a lot of sewing for her children. It was a particularly joyous time to attend all her children and grandchildren's school and sports activities. After raising her children, Elsie went back to work part time for the Cambridge Law Firm.

Elsie helped organize the neighborhood Kid-A-Bit Club in September of 1950, and had been a member ever since that date. Elsie was a Sunday school teacher, a member of the Love Circle and long time member of the Zion Lutheran Church. She loved country music and had music playing in their home from morning until night. Elsie and Wayne loved to go dancing.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne; her daughter, Carol ( at 2 ½ years of age); her parents, Remmer and Bertha Dinkla; her sister, Florence Dinkla; her brothers, Elmer Dinkla, Clarence Dinkl, and Earl Dinkla; her sister-in-laws, Pauline Mickelsen and Arlene Dinkla; her brother-in-law, Lawrence Mickelsen and her parents-in-law, Orlie and Clara Paulsen.
Elsie's family includes four daughters, Janet Petty and husband, Harlan, of Knoxville, Verlee Koskovich of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Rita Petersen and husband, Kevin, of Missouri Valley, Elaine Kerr and husband, Bruce, of Carlisle; one son, Mark of Elk Horn and his fiancé, Teresa Eckmann; fifteen grandchildren, Dr. Todd Petty and wife, Rachael, of Quincy, IL, Ben Petty and wife, Sherry of Conrad, Angie Ellerbroek and husband Shawn, of Waverly, Jeff Petty and wife, Jan, of Knoxville, Marcy Dickson and husband, Todd, of Highlands Ranch, CO, Dena Pena and husband, Tulio, of Colorado Springs, CO, Heidi Douglas and husband, Martin, of Colorado Springs, CO, Drew Petersen and wife, Stacey, of Georgetown, TX, Lindsey Wong and husband, Andrew, of Omaha, NE, Allison Geiger and husband, Jeremy, of Baton Rouge, LA, Alicia Olson and husband, Andy, of Gulfport, MS, Brian Kerr of Virginia Beach, VA, Paige Adkins and husband, Aaron, of Chula Vista, CA, Blair Paulsen and wife, Kendal, of Carter Lake, and Heath Paulsen and wife, Stacey, of Ankeny; 27 great grandchildren, Alexis, Sierra, Jacob and Titus Petty, Gage, Ava and Dane Petty; Mason, Gretchen and Ariana Ellerbroek, Elie Petty, Tanner and Carly Dickson, Avery, Caleb and Livia Pena, Mya Douglas, Jackson and Addison Petersen, Lillian and Jolie Wong, Cade and Lucy Geiger, Drew and Claire Olson, Brylee and Kambrie Paulsen; her brother, Glen Dinkla and wife, Dorsey, of Massena; her sister, Violet Dinkla, of Glenwood; her brother-in-law, Howard Paulsen, and his wife, Janet, of Atlantic, and many nieces and nephew; other relative and friends.

Visitation with family will be from 4:00 -7:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, 2013, at Hockenberry Family Care, Atlantic, Iowa.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 15, 2013, at Zion Lutheran Church, with burial in the Atlantic Cemetery, both in Atlantic.