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.