Darlene "Dolly" Ann Haave

Darlene "Dolly" A. Haave, 90, of Albion, NE, died Sunday, June 27, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Society in Albion, NE.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 2, 2021, at Immanuel-Zion Lutheran Church, rural Albion, NE with Vicar Elizabeth Goering officiating. Burial will follow at the parish cemetery. Visitation will be 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday at Levander Funeral Home in Albion.

Levander Funeral Home of Albion, NE is in charge of arrangements.

Darlene "Dolly" Ann Wilkes was born on April 10, 1931, in Bradish, Nebraska to Bill & Ruth Wilkes. She attended country school north of Bradish and high school in Albion.

Dolly met the love of her life, Gordon Haave, at a dance in Raeville. When her girlfriends left without her, Gordon offered her a ride home. They were married at Zion Lutheran Church in Albion on December 21, 1948, and lived on a farm near Petersburg. Right after their honeymoon, a record-breaking blizzard snowed them in for weeks, forcing Gordon to walk to Petersburg for groceries and hitch a ride back in an airplane with skis. Dolly and Gordon were blessed with three children: Doug, Steve, and Sandy. Dolly used her skills for gardening, sewing, and cooking to take good care of their family.

Making things to share was her lifelong passion. She hand crafted ornaments, quilts, and other gifts that would become precious heirlooms. She sewed baby blankets with Immanuel Zion Lutheran Church for families in need. She didn't let anyone leave her house without a jar of her homemade jelly. She was generous with her time as well as her talents. She welcomed visitors and phone calls at any hour and her kitchen table was always ready for a chat, a game of cards, or a tea party.

Dolly's kindness and curiosity made it easy for her and Gordon to make friends wherever they went—playing cards, square dancing, attending craft shows, fishing, going on bus trips, and traveling the world. She collected bells and thimbles to remember all the places they'd visited. A collector at heart, she also kept quotes and bits of wisdom from the newspaper, church bulletin, magazines, and greeting cards, passing along clippings that made her think of loved ones.

Her family and friends will forever remember Dolly as a softhearted, hardworking person who wasn't shy about showing her love and pride for her people. They will keep her memory alive with some of her best-known recipes for lefse, peppernuts, and creamed hamburger.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Gordon Haave in 2017; parents, Bill Wilkes and Ruth Wieser; and sister, Dora "Mary" Belgum.

Dolly leaves a loving legacy with her children: Doug (Amy) Haave, Steve (Cindy) Haave, and Sandy (James) Krohn; grandchildren: Krista (Randy) Hooker, Kurt (Anita) Krohn, Josh Haave, Adam (Kate) Haave, Zach Haave, Megan Haave, Tina (John) Novak, Andrea (Mike) Eckenwiler, and Eric Haave; great-grandchildren: Katelyn Krohn, Khloe Hooker, Lucas Haave, Lane Krohn, Levi Krohn, Rhylan Hooker, Kinley Haave, Laykin Novak, and Elsie Novak; siblings: Roberta "Berdie" Repenning, Ray (Betty) Pike, Barbara Stillenger, Halver "Bill" (Eileen) Wieser, and Judy Ferguson; and sisters-in-law: Doris Haave and Roseann Stiblo.