Dorothy Ann Yarusso

Dorothy Ann (nee LaMotte) (Vilendrer) Yarusso, age 97, passed away 4-14-2025 from Covid. 

She grew up in South St. Paul in a family of 11 children. She always showed an independent spirit and was known for her intelligence and speaking her mind. Dorothy and husband, Patrick, loved weekly ballroom dancing. They also enjoyed Las Vegas and traveled yearly to Maui. She jokingly said she was Hawaiian in a previous life. Another passion was her yard where Dorothy loved to plant her flowers. North Oaks once recognized her for her beautiful gardens. 

Her biggest love and joy were her children. Dorothy was a very loving mother and always told us, “You can be whatever you want to be!” She went against the norms of her times and believed all women should have an education. Dorothy studied on a scholarship to St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. She was proud to be a nurse. Her love of medicine inspired 2 daughters and 3 granddaughters to be nurses, 2 granddaughters to be doctors, and 2 granddaughters to be in healthcare operations. Dorothy spent most of her nursing career at Gillette Children’s Hospital near Lake Phalen. She treated her patients like her own children and was loved in return. 

She is preceded in death by her husbands, Eugene Vilendrer, 24 years, and Patrick Yarusso, 26 years; parents, Catherine and Norman LaMotte; brothers, Richard, Norman, Gerald, Francis C., Armand, LeRoy, Edward LaMotte; sister, Emelda Dooks; followed in death by son-in-law, David Donnell, on April 18, 2025. She is survived by sister, Rita Reynolds; and brother, Francis T. LaMotte; her 5 children and their families, Michael (Sandy) Vilendrer, Suzanne Donnell, Debra (John) Ashcraft, Rox Anne (Richard) Frank, and Kent (Kathlyn) Vilendrer; 16 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren; and stepdaughter, Jann (Bruce) Holter. 

Dorothy lived self-sufficiently in her home with the loving support of her neighbors, Sue and Jim Fox, and friends, Will and Katie Riopel. 

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 6, at Bradshaw Funeral Home, 4600 Greenhaven Dr, WBL, with a visitation beginning at 10:00.