Dorothy Ruth Dirickson

BURLEY - Dorothy Ruth Patton Dirickson, 86, peacefully returned to Heaven on Monday, May 12, 2014, at Park Place Assisted Living in Nampa, Idaho, where she was lovingly attended by the staff at Park Place and by the wonderful people from Journeys Hospice.

Dorothy was born on May 4, 1928, in Paul, Idaho, to Walter Francis and Mary Ellen Noe Patton. She grew up and spent her life in the Heyburn/Burley area. She was the youngest of a family with mostly girls. She had a brother, Billy, who died when he was 7 years old. They used to walk from Heyburn to Burley on Saturday afternoons to go to the movies, crossing the Snake River on a covered bridge. Dorothy and her sisters loved to go to dances and they loved to roller skate. She was especially close to her sisters, Helen, Vera, and Bertha, throughout her life.

After a courtship full of dancing, she married John DeCarlos Dirickson on Aug. 12, 1944. John worked for many years for the Burley Fire Department, while Dorothy stayed home with the children and, later, worked in the school cafeteria. She loved kids and loved her job at the school. Dorothy and John had three children, Patricia, Johnnie, and Randy. They stayed in Burley and raised their family. When they retired, they bought a motor home and spent their time happily camping in the summer and spending winters in Arizona. They loved to hunt for treasures at flea markets and yard sales. After John died in 2006, Dorothy lived with her son, Johnnie, for several years, then moved to stay with her daughter, Pat, in Nampa.

Dorothy is survived by her children, Patricia (Larry) Anderson, Johnnie Dirickson, and Randy (Leslie) Dirickson; her grandchildren, Pamela (Ciro) Gaona, Sonya (Jamie) Moon, Jacob (Cherish) Dirickson, Andrew (Veronica) Anderson, and Katherine (David) Tuft; and 17 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, John Dirickson; and one grandson, David L. Anderson.

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at the Rasmussen Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley. Burial will follow at Gem Memorial Gardens in Burley.

Friends may call from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday, May 16, and from 1 until 1:45 p.m. Saturday at the Rasmussen Funeral Home.