Audrey Van Dover
Audrey Irene Van Dover, 87, of Aberdeen, SD died Friday, March 10, 2023, at her home.
Audrey (Dunkel) Van Dover was born on June 29, 1935, to Henry and Averil (Edwards) in Aberdeen, SD. She lived her entire life here, attending Lincoln Elementary, Roosevelt Jr. High, and completed her education with graduation from Aberdeen Central in 1952.
On August 13, 1953, Audrey married Jerald Van Dover at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Westport, SD. They made their home in Aberdeen and together, they had three sons. Audrey grew up attending Bethlehem Lutheran Church and returned to the church where she enjoyed volunteering. She was a member of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) for many years and helped others reach their weight-loss goals through support and leadership. In Audrey’s younger days, she worked at J.J. Newberry, Montgomery Ward, and cleaned houses for many years. Nearing retirement, she worked at McDonald’s in Aberdeen, where her grandkids loved when “Grandma” could help them.
Audrey was a remarkedly devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. When the boys were young, the family spent many hours together fishing and camping. Audrey and her family also enjoyed trips to Jerry’s stock car races, where Audrey would cheer Jerry on while Daryl, (number two son) slept on her lap. The family also attended softball games, at which Audrey kept score, ate sunflower seeds, drank diet Pepsi, and was the loudest part of the cheering section. She was so vocal that all of her sons could hear her above the full crowd at Old Simmons field, where they all played football.
Entertaining friends and family was something Audrey enjoyed and excelled at, serving homemade goodies, and playing cards. She was in several card clubs, and her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren picked up her love for cards and enjoy the past time today. One of the card clubs Audrey started with her friend Deloris Green in the late 1950s, is still going today. She loved baking for the holidays, often times burning out mixers in her ever-expanding quest for bigger batches and more varieties of cookies. Her grandchildren loved these marathon baking days and took great pleasure in decorating countless sugar cookies each year. Audrey also loved canning, also always in excess, was talented at embroidery, and was an avid Minnesota Twins fan.
One of Audrey’s gifts was organizing. In the 60’s, she annually organized the local fun nights for the PTA and O. M. Tiffany grade school, and she also served as Den Mother for the Cub Scouts. Audrey juggled her many home activities while babysitting and nurturing many of her relatives’ young children. She was the go-to if you needed to put together a family genealogical review, family reunions, and local, regional, and national TOPs meetings and events, as well as many other events. In a word, Audrey was a servant - selfless and sacrificing, someone that makes the world a better place.
Grateful for having shared Audrey’s life are her children: Dan (Susan) Van Dover, Daryl (CrysoLyn) Van Dover, and David Van Dover; daughter-in-law: Janet (Grant) Wilson; grandchildren: Rebecca (Jason) Munsch, Gary Van Dover, and Tyler Van Dover; great-grandchildren: Samus, Lucas, and Marcus Munsch; and her siblings: Janice Boschee, Doris Conn, and Henry ‘Bud’ (Diane) Dunkel.
Preceding Audrey in death are her parents, husband Jerry, son David, grandson Tyler, and sister Margaret Shorley.