Dora L. Oney

Dora L. Oney
DORA L. ONEY, age 106 of Waseca, died on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at Mayo Clinic Health System in Waseca.
Dora Louise Leonhardi was born on March 9, 1911 on a farm north of Emmons in Freeborn County, Minnesota.  She was the daughter of John Martin Louis "Lou" and Ella Marie Louise (Freemott) Leonhardi.   She was baptized at the Bear Lake Church and Confirmed at Emmons Lutheran Church.  Dora attended grade school at Nunda Country School and graduated from Emmons High School in 1927.  after graduating from Winona State College in 1929, she taught country school at Freeborn then moved to Osage, Iowa where she taught the Palmer Method of Penmanship to 7th and 8th graders and then taught American History for 12 years.
During WWII, Dora worked for the Air Force teaching basic electronics in Madison, WI and was then transferred to Boca Raton, FL.  After moving to California in the late 1940s, she ran into one of her former Air Force students, Richard Oney in a gas station.  They started dating and were married on September 3, 1948.  Dora got a job at Mather Air Base where Richard was serving and she worked there for 26 years.  She and Richard bought acreage near Loomis, California, built a house and planted almond trees and sold almonds.  Richard preceded her in death on December 14, 1991.
In the summer of 2005, Dora sold her home and moved to Realife Cooperative in Waseca where she made many good friends and in June of 2014, she moved to Lakeshore Inn following some health issues.
Dora was the oldest of five sisters.  Three of those preceded her in death:  Edna Olson of Mason City, IA and later Eden Prairie, Lillian Andersen of Lake Mills, IA and Lucille Greeney Anderson of Waseca.
She is survived by one sister, Nylene Sherman of Cambridge, MD and many nieces, nephews and friends.
A celebration of her life will be held at Grace Lutheran Church in Waseca on Sunday, June 4, 2017 at 3:00 PM. 
May she rest in peace.  Blessed be her memory.