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Dorothy Ruby Aarhus

July 13, 1934-Jan. 15, 2021

Dorothy Aarhus, age 86,

passed away peacefully at

her home in Chandler, AZ

on January 15, 2021, sur-

rounded by her loving

family.

A private family service

was held on January 21,

2021 at Falconer Funeral

Home in Gilbert, AZ.

Dorothy Ruby Sletto

was born Friday, July 13,

1934 to Oscar and Selma

(Kamrud) Sletto. She was

born in a car on the way

to the midwife in Bot-

tineau, North Dakota.

Later that fall, after her

Dad had just experienced

total crop failure, he stat-

ed that she was “the best

crop” he could ever have.

As their only child, she

was very welcomed in

their lives.

Dorothy grew up on a

farm near Overly, ND un-

til 1944 when she and her

parents moved to Bot-

tineau, ND. As a young

girl, she enjoyed being

outdoors helping her Dad

with farm work. She was

very close with her Mom

as well and considered

her to be her best friend.

She also liked being with

her grandma, Dordei Slet-

to, after whom she was

named. As an only child,

her animals were her

companions. She espe-

cially loved dogs and

horses.

In 1949, she and her

parents invited Christ into

their lives at a tent meet-

ing in Bottineau, ND. She

graduated from Hillcrest

Lutheran Academy in

Fergus Falls, MN in 1952.

Her first job out of high

school was at the Farmer’s

Home Administration in

Steele, ND.

She married Ardeen

Larson on November 27,

1953 in Rolette, ND. To-

gether they had three

daughters and one son.

They operated a dairy

farm north of Bottineau

where she worked hard,

helping milk cows, gar-

dening, canning, baking,

cooking, cleaning, and

raising four children. In

the early years of her mar-

riage, she also worked in

secretarial positions in

Bottineau. Their marriage

later ended in divorce.

She married James

Aarhus on July 8, 1972

and they lived in Minot,

ND until 1985 when they

moved to Arizona, where

they have lived since

then. She was famous in

the family for her bread,

buns, pumpkin pie, bana-

na bread, and her love of

chocolate. In her younger

years she loved singing

with others in church and

playing piano. She was a

great Mom, good listener,

tender hearted, and was

exceptionally good at

comforting us when we

were sick or hurt.

She was very faithful to

pray for her family by

name daily. Her favorite

Bible verses from the Liv-

ing Bible are 2 Timothy

2:13 “Even when we are

too weak to have any faith

left, He remains faithful to

us and will help us, for

He cannot disown us who

are a part of Himself and

He will always carry out

his promises to us” and

Philippians 4:6 “Don’t

worry about anything; in-

stead pray about every-

thing; tell God your needs

and don’t forget to thank

Him for His answers.”

She was not afraid of

change – her belief was

that “Adversity is

directional” and she

sought to find meaning

and purpose in the diffi-

cult situations of life. Her

stated philosophy of life

was: “I want to walk

quietly through this life

without attention on me

– encouraging and help-

ing others, without my

personal distractions

hindering me from doing

that. Oh yes, – and I love

to make people laugh, or

at least smile!”

Dorothy is survived by:

her husband, James of 48

years, daughter, Jacalyn

(Blair) Galbreath, of Simi

Valley, CA; son, Roger

(Nancy) of Bismarck ND,

and daughters, Karen

(Scot) Feland of Chandler,

AZ, and Naomi (Carmen)

Haugan, of Tempe AZ;

grandchildren, Kristen,

Cindy, and Trevor (Gege)

Galbreath, Stephen (Mad-

die) Larson, David

(Amariah) Larson,

Jonathan Larson, Eliza-

beth (Nick) Sundby, and

Josiah Larson, Heidi (Jake)

Nyhoff, Andre (Jen) Fe-

land, Daniel Feland, Jor-

dan (Paige) Haugan, and

Larissa Haugan;

great-grandchildren,

Bentley, May, Lincoln and

baby boy Nyhoff (due

May 2021), Ande and

Theodore Feland, Joshua

Haugan, and Finli Sund-

by.