MOUNT HOREB - LaVera “Lolly” (Dybdahl) Dickinson, age 90, passed away on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

She was born on July 23, 1931, to Clayton and Laura (Danz) Garfoot in Richland Center, Wis. When she was still young, the family moved to Black Earth, Wis., where she spent the rest of her childhood, attending elementary and high school there. She graduated from Fairview Hospital Nursing School in Minneapolis, Minn., where she received her nursing pin on May 23, 1953. She continued with a successful career in nursing, organizing the first poliomyelitis vaccination campaign for Mount Horeb, working as a staff nurse in surgery and surgical intensive care, and was eventually promoted to the position of Epilepsy Specialty Nurse at the Francis M. Forster regional VA Epilepsy Center where she had papers published in respected neurology and epilepsy journals, all while raising four children. After retiring, she participated in a mission to Jamaica and helped with the health screenings of children in an orphanage.

In April 1981, Lolly married Col. Francis “Jerry” Dickinson and became mother to five more children and grandmother to three more boys. Always looking for fun, she thoroughly enjoyed her blended family as it continued to grow over the years.

Lolly was an avid music lover, singing in Lutheran Church choirs for many decades, performing in ‘The Song of Norway’ in Mount Horeb during its entire run, and enjoying orchestra, opera, and theater performances. She loved to entertain and spoiled her large family and wonderful friends with great parties and home cooked dinners. She also had a passion for travel and toured the world with her loving husband, Jerry. Often, the family back home would have to wait for a call from some exotic country before they would know exactly where the couple ended up.

Lolly was preceded in death by her husband, Jerry; her father, Clayton; her mother, Laura; her brother, Dwayne; and Jerry’s son, Richard. She is survived by her children, David (Cynthia) Dybdahl, Naomi (Fyli) Dybdahl-Sissoko, Paul (Jill) Dybdahl, Sarah (John) Laurent, Carol (Mike) Daniels, Theresa (Larry) LeCompte, Francis (Mai) Dickinson, William (Kimberly) Dickinson, and Geneva Dickinson. She leaves behind a loving, blended family of 20 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters, Karen Brink and Aletha (Charles) Theobald, nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews, whom she all adored very much.

A funeral service will be held at Evangelical Lutheran Church, 315 E. Main St., Mount Horeb, at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, with Pastor John Twiton presiding. Burial will be held at Union Cemetery, Mount Horeb. Visitation will be held at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Wednesday.

In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials can be directed to The American Cancer Society at https://cancer.org. The family extends a special thank you to the caregivers at Attic Angels of Middleton and Agrace HospiceCare. Always a joy to be around, Lolly never complained during her long, courageous battle with breast cancer. She lived life to the fullest and will be missed by her beloved family.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson Camacho Mount Horeb

Funeral & Cremation Care

500 N. Eighth St.

(608) 437-5077

LaVera "Lolly" Dickinson

July 23, 1931 - July 20, 2022

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