Baringer, Dorothy Mae Schlensig – 1926-2013

BARINGER, SCHLENSIG

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 7/25/2024 at 09:45:48

Dorothy Mae Schlensig Baringer passed away in Valley Center, California on February 15, 2012. She was born on a farm in Pocahontas County, Iowa in 1926, graduating from Laurens High School in 1943, where she was editor of her high school yearbook. She graduated from Iowa State University in 1947 with a degree in botany and married Maurice Edmund Baringer in 1948. They lived in Oelwein, Iowa from the mid-1950s until 1969, when they moved to West Des Moines in connection with her husband's political career.
A few years after earning a master's degree from Drake University in 1974, Dorothy and Mo moved to a farm south of Indianola where Dorothy started a native seed and plant business. Her business, Wildflowers from Nature's Way, was one of the first to supply native prairie seed to the state for the propagation of wildflowers along Iowa's highways. She also worked as an environmental biology instructor for Upper Iowa University and on numerous native plant projects in the Des Moines area, including Living History Farms, the Des Moines Botanical Center, and Greenwood Park. During the course of her career until her retirement in the late1990's, she was a member of the Iowa Academy of Science, serving as a trustee of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and a member of the State Preserves Advisory Board. She later served on the Clarke County Conservation Board.
Dorothy was preceded in death by brother, Elmer Schlensig; sons, James and David Baringer, and most recently her husband, Maurice in May 2011. She is survived by her daughters, Sandra and Debra Baringer; six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, with two more expected in May and June.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday, March 2, at Overton Funeral Home in Indianola with services at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 3 at Trinity United Presbyterian Church in Indianola. Memorial donations may be directed to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Online condolences may be made at www.overtonfunerals.com.
Published In Des Moines (IA) Register; Sunday, February 26, 2012, Page 9B