Dorlene House, daughter of Otis and Malissa Dye Welton, was born Nov. 25, 1932, in Douglas County, Missouri, and departed this life Jan. 15, 2021 in Springfield at the age of 88 years, 1 month and 29 days. On July 20, 1952, she was united in marriage to Ronnie House, and to this union they were blessed with two children. She was preceded in death by her husband Ronnie on Aug. 19, 1990; her parents; two brothers, Hubert Welton and Berchie Welton; and two sisters, Reba Dry and Jo Brake. Dorlene is survived by her daughter, Ronna Brazeal, and husband, Russ, and her son, John House, and wife ,Jana, all of Mansfield; eight grandchildren, Jeremy Jones and wife, Juli, of Spring Hill, Kan.; Stephanie Goings and husband, Jason, of Strafford; Jennifer Christian and fiancé, Chris Liles, of Farmington, Ark.; Stephen House and wife, Bethany, of Strafford; Preston Goss and wife, Maile, of Springfield; Chelsea Ames and husband, Drew, of Ozark; Tim Brazeal and wife, Rochelle, and Tom Brazeal and fiancé, Kelsey Becker, all of Mansfield; 12 great-grandchildren, Easton, Cooper and Porter Jones; Elliott and Emerson Goings; Madison Jones; Alexia and Ayden House; Weston Moore; Bayli, Hoyt and Eli Brazeal. She will also be remembered and loved by her sister, Leora Nall, of Caldwell, Idaho; along with several other relatives and many, many, friends. Although her grandchildren may have been the first to call their loving grandmother “MeMa,” everyone in her family would use it when speaking to or about Dorlene. The name proved to be as contagious as her bright smile and affection for everyone in her life. She was born and raised in Douglas County, Missouri and graduated from Ava High School in the Class of 1950. She enjoyed keeping in touch with her classmates over the years. After she and Ronnie were married, they lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for two years while he was stationed at the Fairbanks Army Base. After leaving the Army, they moved to Mansfield in 1955, where they started House’s Shoe Store. Dorlene was a devoted wife and homemaker and started working at the Bank of Mansfield in 1968 “just” to make enough money to put “wall-to-wall” carpet in their home and make life better for her family. She liked her job, but she especially loved the people she could help while at the bank and continued to work there until retiring in 1995. The same year the family closed the shoe store. Dorlene made a profession of faith in Christ many years ago and faithfully attended the Mansfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church until her health failed. She was a 50-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star, charter member of the Mansfield PEO Chapter JM and was the Bloodmobile Director in Mansfield for many years. In her spare time, she was involved with her family and loved watching them grow and participate in activities. If there was ever anything that she could do to help she would embrace the opportunity. She loved working with her flowers in the yard, and was a seamstress, quilter and an avid bridge player. A special group of friends had a “high stakes” card game every Friday night for over 30 years and it’s been said that Dorlene used the same jar of pennies the entire time. “MeMa” loved to travel having taken the opportunities to visit many countries and 49 states, but some of her most cherished memories were from the time the family spent together at the lake. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Teresa Kennedy for her assistance these last two years. Her love and care allowed “MeMa” to remain in her home and close to all that she cherished. Dorlene was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and a very caring neighbor and friend who was always willing to help others. We celebrate her life and accomplishments and will always remember her smile and special times we had together. Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 at Holman-Howe Chapel in Mansfield with the Rev. Larry Scott. Music by Tim Brazil and selections are “How Great Thou Art” and “You Raise Me Up.” Escorts will be Jeremy Jones, Stephen House, Preston Goss, Jason Goings, Chris Liles and Drew Ames. The final resting place is in the Mansfield Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Mansfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church or Mansfield Order of the Eastern Star.
