1936-2026
Lodemia “Dee” Dudley Hartley was born Jan. 16, 1936, in Bagley to Charles Frank Dudley and Frances (Nelson) Dudley. After her mother died at Dee’s birth, she was raised on the farm outside Panora by her paternal aunt, Dorothy Phipps. Dee graduated from Panora High School in 1953 at the top of her class. Even then, her energy and enthusiasm were evident in her many activities and interests — including earning a sharpshooter award through the Rifle Club.
After high school, Dee attended the University of Colorado Boulder, earning a Bachelor of Science in nursing. She worked in Colorado and Wisconsin before moving with her family to Northfield, Minnesota, in 1968. She later became a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and spent many years at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis as a nurse anesthetist, educator and director of the School of Anesthesia. She also worked as a freelance CRNA in Iowa, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Dee earned master’s degrees in education from the College of St. Thomas and health care administration from the College of St. Francis.
Dee was respected for both her knowledge and her willingness to lead and teach. She educated nurses and nurse anesthetists, published professional articles and held numerous leadership positions with the Minnesota Association of Nurse Anesthetists, including serving as president.
After leaving the VA, Dee spent a year and a half living aboard a 26-foot sailboat, traveling the waterways of the eastern United States. She visited much of the U.S., Australia, Scandinavia and Mexico. An avid golfer, she also enjoyed gardening, sailing, Tai Chi, church activities and Bible studies.
Iowa — and the family farm — always remained a part of her. Dee returned to the farm in the early 1990s, where she raised ostriches, converted her land to organic farming and, traveled throughout the Midwest promoting the regenerative and organic farming methods used on her land to this day.
In 2000, Dee returned to the Minneapolis and worked at the Minnesota Veterans Home, where she helped develop its Infection Control Program. On Sept. 18, 2004, she married Dr. Randall Lakosky and helped in his medical practice until his death in 2018. Dee continued living near her daughter Joni in Faribault, Minnesota.
In July 2023, Dee finally returned to the Iowa farm she loved, where her daughter Jackie, a family nurse practitioner, helped care for her. As Lewy body dementia increasingly affected her health, Dee moved to Lakeside Memory Care in July 2026, where she died peacefully surrounded by family on Oct. 2, 2026.
Dee was the mother of four daughters with her first husband, Dr. William B. Hartley. She is survived by daughters Julie Hartley (Tom Adair) of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Joni (Dale) Becker of Faribault, Minnesota; and Jacqueline Blackburn (Randy Sabyan) of Panora; granddaughter Ami Francis of Austin, Texas; grandson Gabriel Blackburn of Gatlinburg, Tennessee; nieces and nephews; and many friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her aunt, Dorothy Phipps; three sisters and a brother; her husband, Dr. Randall Lakosky; her daughter, Jennifer Lynn Hartley; and her grandson, Sean Francis.
Those who loved Dee will remember far more than her accomplishments. They will remember her warmth and wit, independence and determination, curiosity, sense of adventure, and that little bit of spice that made Dee unmistakably Dee. She entered the world facing the loss of her mother and later, her father and brother at age 16, yet embraced an extraordinary amount of life. She learned, taught, traveled, sailed, gardened, served, raised a family, built a career, made friends wherever she went and eventually found her way back home to Iowa. Dee had a good, long life — filled with family, friendship, faith, learning, laughter and more than a few adventures.
Cremation has taken place, and burial of her cremains will be in the West Cemetery, Panora, at a later date. Twigg Funeral Home, Panora, is entrusted with her services.
She will be deeply missed, and hers was a life very well lived.