Dorothy "Dottie" Jurgens

Dorothy R. Jurgens passed away peacefully on Monday, February 27, 2023, with her family by her side. She was born on December 9, 1935, in Friend, Nebraska to Lorren and Blanche Stephens and attended Diller High School where she loved spending time with friends, playing volleyball and participating in the band.  After graduation she started her lifelong love affair with teaching, in a one room schoolhouse.  She married Gerald H. Jurgens (Jerry) on May 23, 1954.  Together they had three children, David, Lorrene, and DeeAnn.  After her children were in school, she started working at Martin Luther Home, now Mosaic.  She was employed there for 40 plus years teaching “my kids”, which was incredibly rewarding for her.  She never knew a stranger and gathered friends as a hen gathers her chicks. All who knew her loved her for her kindness and generosity.

Throughout her lifetime, she was an avid hobbyist enjoying sewing, painting, ceramics, leather working, cake making, photography and quilting.  She loved UNL sports and watching her grandchildren in their various activities.  She was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and volunteered at the school in her later years.  She is survived by her sister, Marilyn Wrigley of Fairbury, NE, children, David, and Laurie (Gerlach) Jurgens of Beaver Dam, KY, Lorri and John Bruns of Panama, NE, and DeeAnn and Scott Cooper of Lincoln, NE. Additionally, she has six grandchildren, Jeremy and Alison Jurgens and Joanna and Kurtis Howland, Alexa, Jared, Grant, and Cade Cooper and three great grandchildren, Ellie and Lily Jurgens, and Jack Howland.  She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, parents, and brothers, Robert, Wayne, Richard, and Warren Stephens and brother-in-law, William Wrigley.

Graveside Services will be held at 9:00 AM on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at the Evergreen Home Cemetery in Beatrice, followed by Memorial Services at 10:30 AM at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Beatrice, with Pastor Daryn Bahn officiating both. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Friday, March 3, 2023 at Harman-Wright Mortuary in Beatrice. Memorials are suggested to Mosaic in Beatrice or St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Beatrice.

Condolences may be left online at www.harmanwrightmortuary.com. Harman-Wright Mortuary & Crematory in Beatrice in charge of arrangements.

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