OCONOMOWOC

Vera Eugenia Dallman

Vera Eugenia Dallman was born Aug. 2, 1909, in St. Paul, Minn. The middle daughter of Clarence and Blanche Lattin, her parents raised her and her two sisters, Clarice and Charlotte, in Bemidji, Minn.; all have preceded her in death. In 1925, she moved to Waukesha County, where she lived for 63 years. There she met and married William A. (Bill) Dallman on July 11, 1931. They had been married 54 years when he died in 1985.

   Two hallmarks of Vera Dallman’s life were family and music. Vera and Bill created their family when they adopted their son, David, in 1939, and their daughter, Mary Ellen, in 1947. The Dallman family expanded and contracted over the years as they opened their home to nephews, nieces and 16 foster children. Music from an old pump organ filled the house as Vera taught herself to play. Her natural musical gifts allowed her to serve as a soloist and church organist at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Pewaukee for more than 20 years. While she enjoyed watching "The Price is Right" and "Wheel of Fortune," she much preferred playing a spirited game of Skip-Bo or reading a murder mystery. Her 101 years of life spanned 17 presidencies. She voted in her first presidential election in 1932 for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and in her last in 2008 for President Barack Obama.

She died peacefully in her sleep at home Sunday, Dec. 26, 2010. She is survived by her daughter, Mary Ellen Dallman of Valdosta, Ga.; daughter-in-law, Edyth K. Dallman of Waukesha; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

A memorial service was held in Valdosta on Dec. 29; she was interred in St. Jerome’s Cemetery in Oconomowoc on Saturday, Jan. 8.