She was born June 9, 1917, to Abraham and Clara Maud (Day) Abrahamson on a homestead near Bowman, North Dakota. Dorothy graduated from high school during the depression and relocated to Wallace, Idaho shortly afterward.
She arrived in Wallace on a Friday and went to work the following Monday for the widow of the town's only four-term Mayor, Herman Rossi. On
October 16, 1939, she married Amos Ansel Amonson in Spokane. Ansel was the son of pioneers Oscar and Sophia Amonson, who had lived in Burke, Idaho territory, and Spokane Falls, Washington territory, before both became states.
Ansel was born in Spokane on July 18, 1891. Dorothy left the workforce to free up time to raise a family. Ann, David, John, and Marie were all born in Wallace in the 1940s. She returned to the workforce after the youngest started school, first as a cook at the Wallace Elks Club, then as a cook and housekeeper for Henry L. Day, president of Day Mines, Inc. In that capacity, she prepared meals for a large number of Hank Day's guests, including Idaho's Governors, U.S. Senators, Representatives, many State Legislators, and various other dignitaries.
Interestingly, the success of Day Mines was greatly enhanced by the efforts of Ansel's Uncle Carl; Carl Amonson located the Hummingbird Mine near Burke in 1898 and became its first president. Henry L. Day's father Harry, along with the other Hercules Mine stockholders, acquired the property and used its existing adit (tunnel) to gain access to the lower workings of the Hercules ore body. Most of the wealth from the Hercules was brought to the surface through that portal.
Many Spokane landmarks were constructed with that money, including the Paulsen Building, the Hutton settlement, and a portion of the investment capital for the Davenport Hotel.
Lana Turner's father was a miner at the Hercules in 1923 and used that portal to get to work. It's also interesting to note, that nearly all of the mining in the Silver Valley today has strong connections to the former Day Mines.
Eugene Day did much of the early development on the early workings that eventually became the Galena Mine and nearly all of the Lucky Friday Mine's recent production was extracted from the Gold Hunter property that Hecla acquired in its merger with Day Mines in the early 1980s.
Dorothy retired after Hank Day's death in 1985 and continued to be active in volunteer work clear into her early 90's.
She is survived by her children Clara Ann Zeller and David Ansel Amonson (Connie) all of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, John Amonson (Linda) of Silverton, Idaho, Marie Sevy of Lewiston, Idaho; fourteen grandchildren and thirty great-grandchildren.
Published in Spokesman-Review from Apr. 3 to Apr. 4, 2010.
She was born June 9, 1917, to Abraham and Clara Maud (Day) Abrahamson on a homestead near Bowman, North Dakota. Dorothy graduated from high school during the depression and relocated to Wallace, Idaho shortly afterward.
She arrived in Wallace on a Friday and went to work the following Monday for the widow of the town's only four-term Mayor, Herman Rossi. On
October 16, 1939, she married Amos Ansel Amonson in Spokane. Ansel was the son of pioneers Oscar and Sophia Amonson, who had lived in Burke, Idaho territory, and Spokane Falls, Washington territory, before both became states.
Ansel was born in Spokane on July 18, 1891. Dorothy left the workforce to free up time to raise a family. Ann, David, John, and Marie were all born in Wallace in the 1940s. She returned to the workforce after the youngest started school, first as a cook at the Wallace Elks Club, then as a cook and housekeeper for Henry L. Day, president of Day Mines, Inc. In that capacity, she prepared meals for a large number of Hank Day's guests, including Idaho's Governors, U.S. Senators, Representatives, many State Legislators, and various other dignitaries.
Interestingly, the success of Day Mines was greatly enhanced by the efforts of Ansel's Uncle Carl; Carl Amonson located the Hummingbird Mine near Burke in 1898 and became its first president. Henry L. Day's father Harry, along with the other Hercules Mine stockholders, acquired the property and used its existing adit (tunnel) to gain access to the lower workings of the Hercules ore body. Most of the wealth from the Hercules was brought to the surface through that portal.
Many Spokane landmarks were constructed with that money, including the Paulsen Building, the Hutton settlement, and a portion of the investment capital for the Davenport Hotel.
Lana Turner's father was a miner at the Hercules in 1923 and used that portal to get to work. It's also interesting to note, that nearly all of the mining in the Silver Valley today has strong connections to the former Day Mines.
Eugene Day did much of the early development on the early workings that eventually became the Galena Mine and nearly all of the Lucky Friday Mine's recent production was extracted from the Gold Hunter property that Hecla acquired in its merger with Day Mines in the early 1980s.
Dorothy retired after Hank Day's death in 1985 and continued to be active in volunteer work clear into her early 90's.
She is survived by her children Clara Ann Zeller and David Ansel Amonson (Connie) all of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, John Amonson (Linda) of Silverton, Idaho, Marie Sevy of Lewiston, Idaho; fourteen grandchildren and thirty great-grandchildren.
Published in Spokesman-Review from Apr. 3 to Apr. 4, 2010.
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See more Amonson or Abrahamson memorials in:
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- Kootenai County Amonson or Abrahamson
- Idaho Amonson or Abrahamson
- USA Amonson or Abrahamson
- Find a Grave Amonson or Abrahamson
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