Legacy Gifts, Loyal Support

Dorothy Sohler of Mankato leads an interesting life. her articulate delivery of memories from 96 plus years take a listener back to life on a Minnesota farm or around the globe. But strong in her recollections are devotion to family and a sense of duty to community – feelings she expresses through steady support of Immanuel St. Joseph’s Foundation.

“I’ve had a super life,” she shares with a smile. “I believe that if a person can give, they should help others. That’s part of life.” 

Dorothy and her husband, Si, worked hard together on their farm. She did what had to be done to make it through rough times. When times were good, she wanted to share what she had with others. Upbeat and positive, Dorothy finds the good – and often the humor – in situations.

Farm life lends plenty of those situations to recall.  She married Si Sohler in 1936. Jim, her only child, was born a year later.  She attributes the success of their farm to her Si’s good sense. “My husband was quite a businessman.”

He had a good helper, too. When hog prices dropped dangerously low, Dorothy discovered she could get more per pound for turtle meat. So on top of her regular duties, she devised a way to trap turtles. She kept them in a stock tank until she had enough to sell. One successful “hunt” brought in a particularly large turtle. But traveling along the road near her place, she saw the turtle “heading down the road.”

“I put him back in the tank, and before long he was out again,” she said. “So I watched. All the other turtles would stack up and he would climb up on top of them and get out.”

He couldn’t outsmart Dorothy, though. “I got $20 for him,” she says, laughing.

Like trapping turtles to help her family, Dorothy learned early on how to “do what needs done.” When she and Si learned that St. Joseph’s Hospital was expanding, they wanted to help.

“I had to have tumors removed after my son was born,” Dorothy recalls. “I got the help I needed, so when we found out the hospital was raising money, we wanted to help – to give back.” That’s something they continued to do. Through the years, they contributed countless gifts to support health care where they live. She says they made a point to instill a willingness to give back in their son, and to leave a legacy for future generations.

“Money given to a worthwhile cause like the hospital helps people for decades to come,” she says. “What better legacy is that?”

Dorothy found her way through many adventures. World fairs, a rattlesnake round up in eastern Texas, and excavating Mayan ruins in Central America and countless world travels fill her keepsake shelves with mementos. But she always found her way back, remaining loyal to the place she calls home. That loyalty is reflected through a generous spirit of gratitude for help she received in her younger years from her parents.

“They somehow came up with the money to lend to me to go to commercial college,” she recalls. “I paid them back, but I never forgot how hard they worked to help me, so maybe now I can help somebody else.” Generosity is a sentiment Dorothy nurtures in the three generations that follow her, and that’s something she’s proud of. “Helping others is a personal journey,” she says. “But I think we’re born to help other people.”

Like any good farm girl, Dorothy likes to see the fruits of her labor.

“I see results like when I give to Immanuel St. Joseph’s Foundation,” she says.  “The organization is stable, credible, and has a good mission. That’s why our gift to the hospital was the first gift we made, and why I’ve continued ever since.”

Si passed away in 2001, and Dorothy holds their memories dear, sharing them with grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Since the Foundation began over 17 years ago, she has given 21 gifts with certain regularity, maintaining what she and Si started so many years ago. She gives of her time as well – offering  countless hours of volunteer help.

“I like to be busy, and I feel joy from giving,” she says. “I can’t speak for Si, but I know it pleased him to help others. Dorothy and Si’s names were recently added to the recognition wall in the Hospital as founding members of the Legacy Society. “I’m proud to have our names there, together,” she says. “I’m happy to be able to help. It’s a good investment in the future.”