Dorothy 'Dot' Risa

Dorothy "Dot" (Walters) Risa was born on Sept. 12, 1922, in Regina, Saskatchewan, to James and Annie B. Walters. She passed away on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in Glasgow, Mont. at the age of 95.

Visitation will be held from 5–7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at Bell Mortuary in Glasgow. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Opheim Community Church in Opheim, with Pastor Owen Childers officiating. Burial will take place in the Lawndale Cemetery in Opheim, followed by a luncheon at the church.

She moved frequently with her mother as a young girl and also when her mother married Harry Ackers, a custom agent. She moved 12 times before she graduated from high school in Westby, Mont., in 1941. She then moved to Missoula for secretarial classes and on to Great Falls to work at Rocky Mountain Insurance. There she met and established lifetime friendships. She enjoyed going to dances and brought her friends to Opheim to visit her mother and eventually met her first husband, Albin "Fat" Risa. She married Fat on Jan.1, 1946. He moved her to the family farm in Opheim. Dot, the city girl, adapted to living on the farm where she lived until 2007 and then moved to Glasgow. Her sons, Lee was born on Dec. 14, 1950, and Brian on Feb. 7, 1954. After Albin's death in 1961, she married Theron Risa on Dec. 28, 1963.

She was very involved in First Lutheran Church serving as district secretary, teaching Sunday School, leading the Lutheran women, Bethel Bible Study, and confirmation. In her community, she was on the school board, active in Opheim senior citizens and was a community club member.

Their home was always open and welcoming. Her and Theron's nephew, Kenneth Christofferson, lived with them for five years and attended school and graduated in Opheim. All of her grandchildren received handmade quilts for graduation. She enjoyed blessing her family and others with numerous afghans and handiwork. She frequently attended sporting events in Opheim, especially for her grandchildren's ball games

She enjoyed family vacations, senior citizen trips and traveling, especially her two trips to Hawaii with Theron and close friends. She and Theron enjoyed 10 years of friendships and visiting at Nemont Manor and Prairie Ridge in Glasgow. In her final month, she was cared for at Valley View Nursing Home in Glasgow.

She was preceded in death by her mother, father and step-father; her first husband, Albin; two brothers, Melvin Ackers and Allen Ackers and his wife, Millie; and one grandson, Tyler Risa.

She is survived by her husband, Theron, of nearly 54 years; two sons, Lee and his wife, Terry (Ackerman), of Opheim and Brian and his wife, Diana (Leibrand) of Blackfoot, Idaho; five grandchildren, Jessica Perry and her husband, Greg, of Pocatello, Idaho, Travis Risa and his wife, Candra, of Blackfoot, Idaho, Kari Murch and her husband, Cowboy, of Glasgow, Kristy Miller and her husband, James, of Taylor, N.D., and Bryce Risa of Opheim; nine great-grandchildren, Abby, Lily, Tayley, Caleb, Cole, Collin, Callie, Karstin and Kaisen; two sisters-in-law, Lenora Ackers of Vancouver, Wash., and Pat Risa of Glasgow; along with many nieces and nephews.

She will be missed by her family and friends but has left everyone with memories that will live on. Memorials can be left in Dorothy's name to your favorite charity.