DORIS J. ALBERTS
The memorial service for Doris J. Alberts will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, February 10, 2024 at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Britton. Rev. Larry Johnson will officiate. Private family inurnment of her cremains will take place at a later date in the Britton Cemetery.
Visitation will be 4:00-6:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9, 2024 at St. John’s Lutheran Fellowship Hall, concluding with a 6:00 p.m. prayer service.
Doris June Alberts, 100 years of age, passed away peacefully at Marshall County Healthcare Center Avera in Britton, SD on February 3, 2024. She was born Doris June Wenck on a farm near Andover, SD on June 6, 1923, to Herman and Lena (Wohltman) Wenck.
Doris’s upbringing was marked by resilience and perseverance in the face of hardship, as her father tragically lost his life in a drowning accident at Amsden Lake when she was just 14 years old.
Despite the challenges, Doris’s determination shone through as she pursued her education. She attended a oneroom country school through eighth grade and high school in Andover, SD. Doris then earned a two-year teaching certificate at Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, SD, with the support from family and friends. Doris embarked on her teaching career in a one-room school near Ferney, SD, before venturing to California, where she worked various jobs, including as a bookkeeper at a tuna cannery.
Returning to South Dakota in 1945, Doris began working for the County Superintendent of Schools in Aberdeen before accepting a teaching position at Weston Consolidated School in Amherst, SD, where she taught grades 1-4. It was there that she crossed paths with Melvin Alberts, a returning war veteran and farmer. They were married on October 4, 1947, in Andover, SD and together they built a life centered around family and farming west of Amherst.
As the Alberts family grew to include three children, Doris continued to balance her roles as a mother and educator. Doris was an active member of St John’s Lutheran Church in Britton. After her children were in school, she returned to teaching, a profession she cherished deeply. Doris taught first grade and later fourth grade in Langford, SD, while also pursuing further education at Northern State, eventually earning her bachelor’s degree in education. After retirement, her love for teaching continued at the Newport Colony for several years. She touched the lives of many students with her patience, kindness and encouragement in her classroom as a regular teacher and as a substitute after retirement.
Doris is survived by her sister, Darlys Kruse; three adult children: Leland (Shelly) Alberts, Marla (Richard) Muscio and Leonard (Sheri) Alberts; and numerous grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Doris’s life was marked by dedication, resilience, and a commitment to education and family; and most of all her love for the Lord. She was preceded in death by her father, Herman Wenck; her mother, Lena (Wohltman) Wenck; her husband, Melvin Alberts; and siblings: Howard, Leonard, Lloyd, and Dileen. She leaves behind a legacy of strength, love, and service, remembered fondly by all who knew her.
Condolences may be directed to the family in care of Leonard & Sheri Alberts- 11407 418th Ave - Britton, SD 57430.
An online guestbook and obituary are available at www.olsonfuneralchapel.