Edith LaDoux

Edith (Dede) Marston LaDoux passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 29, 2007. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of sixty years, Carlyle LaDoux, and her parents Walter Lawrence Marston and Esther May Millet Marston. Dede is survived by two daughters: Suzanne LaDoux Lee (David Lee) of Tulsa and Rita LaDoux (Paul Swedenborg) of St. Paul, Minnesota. Suzanne's children are Sean (Amanda) of Dallas, Amy Michalcik (Josh) (children Lauren and Jack) of Tulsa, and Melissa Lee, M.D. of Tulsa. Rita's daughters are Eliza and Britta. Dede is also survived by many dear friends. Born in 1915, in Sioux Fall, South Dakota, Dede grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She graduated from Central High School in 1932. She studied marketing at the University of Minnesota where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. It was there on a blind date that she met her future husband, Carlyle (CC or Ole) LaDoux. They married in 1936, and moved to Carlyle's hometown of Spirit Lake, Iowa. There while Carlyle worked for his brother in the Coca Cola bottling plant, Dede did volunteer work, and became active in ladies activities such as PEO, bridge club, and golf matches. She also led a Girl Scout troop. When bombs struck Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Carlyle enlisted in the Navy. While her husband was serving in Hawaii and on Midway Island during World War II, .Dede returned to St. Paul to work as a secretary and live with her parents. Carlyle and Dede returned to Spirit Lake shortly after the war's end. They settled quickly back into the small resort town's social scene. Along with many others returning from overseas, they formed the Couples Club. And like their close friends, they started a family with Suzanne and later Rita—charter members of the Baby Boom. Dede put great effort and energy into raising her two daughters. She was active in the PTA, Girl Scouts, and local politics; she even ran for the School Board. She lost that bid to Berkely Bedell, who later was elected U.S. Congressman from Iowa. Dede's mother-in-law would not vote for her because she believed that politics was not women's work. In 1961, Carlyle changed jobs and the family moved first to Ames, and later to Des Moines, Iowa. Finally in 1963, they made their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Tulsa, Dede continued to be very involved in her daughters' education and Girl Scouts. By 1969, both girls had graduated from high school. Dede had more time to help her husband with his bookkeeping, to be an involved PEO sisterhood, and to be an active member of the Homebuilders Class at First Christian Church. She also enjoyed tutoring needy children attending Tulsa Public Schools. She frequently stopped in to help her daughter Suzanne in her history classes at Memorial High School and Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences. She has loved her five grandchildren, and recently, she has thoroughly enjoyed getting to play with her two very young great grandchildren. Dede loved to travel with her husband in their RV motor home. They traveled much of the US. They frequently returned to Spirit Lake to visit close friends and family. Being connected was always very important to her. Dede will be remembered for her wry sense of humor, her fairness towards others especially the young, her excellent taste in design, her strong supportive friendships, and her dedication to her husband and family. All who knew her will miss the great friend they had in Dede LaDoux.