Dolores Weiss Obituary Dolores Mathilda Weiss, 93, a woman who spent much of her life helping others and who was passionately devoted to her family, died of COVID-19 December 6, 2020 while at the Good Samaritan Society Elmwood House. She was born Dolores Walz on February 26, 1927 to Edward Walz and Gertrude Schueller south of Center Valley; the family would later move to rural Pierz where she grew up. She was one of the oldest members of a family of 13. Some of her jobs on the farm were splitting wood, taking care of a big garden, helping with canning, cooking, and helping raise her younger siblings. Her dad was a farmer and trucker who also broke wild horses. She remembers scrubbing the wood floor with a brush and homemade soap. She spoke German when growing up but learned English when she went to a one-room schoolhouse where she especially loved geography and arithmetic. In winter, she remembers waling 3.5 miles each way, sometimes with snow so deep they could walk over fences. Because of family obligations, she wasnt able to attend high school though she desperately wanted to continue learning and eventually teach elementary school; her other dream was to be a professional dancer. Her catholic faith was always important to Dolores, including going to catechism classes. She was a long-time member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Brainerd. When she was sixteen, she left the farm and went to St. Paul to do housework in mansions on Summit Avenue. Two years later, she moved to Duluth to work in a hospital. The best thing in her life was marrying Wilfred Weiss, the love of her life, who lived on a farm a few miles away. She first remembers seeing him when he and other children came to ice skate on a creek going past the Walz farm. The began dating when she was about 15. They often went to dances because both loved to dance. They were married on June 4, 1947, in Pierz, MN. Wilfred was employed in Brainerd so they moved there. In April of 1949 they moved to their first house on North 9th Street and a few years later moved to Grove Street where they lived for 60 years. Wilfred was an engineer at St. Josephs Hospital and Dolores stayed home to raise their six children as she did not want anyone else raising her children and she loved being a mother. She and Wilfred were not the kind of parents to preach, but modeled well how one should live, including being generous with ones time and talent. After Wilfreds death in 1974, Dolores began working as a cook in Brainerd schools and cooked at Legionville in the summer. In her spare time, she would knit, quilt, and sew and give it to others. She was a devout Catholic, reading the bible, attending Mass daily, and cleaning church linens. She joined St. Lucys Guild and remained a member all her life. Dolores was survived by her six children: Mark (Lesleyanne) Weiss of Maryville, TN, Fr. Jerome Weiss of Grand Rapids, MN, John (Deborah) Weiss of Rochester, MN, Mary Kay (Charles) Kern of St. Joseph, MN, Eugene (Mary Jane White) Weiss of Minneapolis, MN, and Bruce (Sue) Weiss of Florida; 11 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; sister, Marie Herold; brother, Wilfred "Buddy" Walz; sisters-in-law, Lorraine Walz, Janet Walz, Phyllis Walz, Juliette Henley, Corrine Murry, Joyce Weiss, Lorraine Thoms and Joann Faust; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband; eight brothers; and two sisters. A Private Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, December 10, 2020 at St. Francis Catholic Church in Brainerd. A live streaming option will be available on the churchs website (www.blccnorth.org) Memorials are preferred to St. Francis Catholic Church.