Dorothea “Dottie” Sue (Wilsey) Antonson

Dorothea Sue (Wilsey) Antonson, 78, of South Haven, passed away at home, Saturday, September 11, 2021. Born on October 30, 1942 in Alpena, Michigan to Ben and Irene (Schlienz) Wilsey.  Married June 30, 1962, to Allen Martin Antonson at St. Paul Lutheran Church, South Haven, Michigan.

Dorothea is survived by her husband of 59.5 years Allen, children; Allen Antonson Jr., Paul Antonson, Lynda (Travis) Wolfe, David Antonson. She is also survived by her Grandchildren; Alexa (Ali), Allen, Tayler, Austin, Lance, Katlyn, Nicole, Maisie, Landon.

Great Grandchildren:  Leah, Jace, Tucker, Joseph, Weston, Michael, Nicholas, and her Siblings; Beverly Smith and Ben Wilsey.

Dorothea is preceded in death by her parents.

Dorothea worked for the South Haven Public School Systems for many years. She started out as Bus driver and then moved on to food truck delivery. Later she took on custodial and inter school mail for the schools before retiring. She also worked previously for the Pink Poodle Beauty Salon and Sherman’s Dairy Bar. She was very involved in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. From every sporting event, school function or extracurricular, she was there to support her family and those she considered family. At away events, she and her husband always made sure that they took care of those whose parents were unable to attend, no matter how many there were. Dorothea was an active and hands on 4-H leader for over 40 years. She loved going to horse shows with her grandchildren on the weekends and watched them compete, cheering them on and supporting them from the side. She enjoyed fishing with her ladies in the lady’s tournament and was avid deer hunter. Dorothea enjoyed the Pony express trips with the Sheriff Posse. She loved hooking up her pony for a buggy ride around the farm. When she wasn’t out supporting her family or working on the farm you could always find her reading a good steamy book. She was a very hard-working woman from cutting, raking, and baling hay she took care of what needed to be done around the farm without hesitation. Dorothea was a huge Raiders fan.

She belongs to the Draft horse club and the West Michigan Buggy club in Hartford.

A Memorial Visitation for Dorothea will be held, Saturday, October 2, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m at the Filbrandt Chapel- Starks Family Funeral Home, 1076 S. Bailey Ave, South Haven, Michigan 49090.                

 In lieu of flowers, donations in Dorothea’s honor can be made to the Van Buren Draft Club.