Dorinda (Doris) Jelmberg

Dorinda Sanchez Prieto was born at home in Noguerosa, Galicia, Spain, on Dec. 19, 1937, to Constantino Sanchez Feal and Dorinda Prieto Lago. She was the third of seven children. She was raised in the beautiful Puentedeume area of Galicia where she attended school and church, graduated from college and became a teacher.

She met and married George O. Jelmberg, a Swedish-American, who was working in Galicia. They married in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on Aug. 27, 1960. They remained in Galicia where their daughter Maria was born. In January of 1962 they traveled to America intending to visit for one year. While visiting Washington state, the Columbia Basin Irrigation project began selling parcels of land for agricultural development. They bid on and purchased two units of land in the project, and a new era in their lives began. They were among the earliest settlers of the area known as the Royal Slope. They opened the land and became farmers. During these early years, two more children were born, a son George, and a daughter Anna. Dorinda Sanchez Prieto became Doris Jelmberg.

Doris was very busy raising her children and farming. She was a classroom mother. She sewed clothes, cooked hearty meals, and canned fruit from their trees. She irrigated, cleaned corrugates, picked up parts, and drove trucks for grain harvest, among many other tasks. She was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church where she served in the Altar Society. She also served as president of the Northern Deanery of Catholic women of the Yakima diocese and as a member of the board of Catholic Charities for Grant County. Later she served on the boards of the Columbia Basin Health Association and the Farm Home Administration. In 2001, Jelmberg Farms was named Wildlife Farm of the Year. She was capable, dependable, intelligent, a loyal friend, and a fierce ally. If you stopped by her home you were likely offered a meal, beverage, and invigorating conversation. She was a true partner in the farming operation and continued to farm after being widowed in 1983. Five months after being widowed she became an abuelita (grandmother). She was called Lita by her grandchildren and those who knew her through them.

In 1993 her world changed when she became ill with encephalitis. The next 22 years were more difficult as she dealt with the consequences of the illness as well as other health issues. She spent her last three years at Coventry House in Othello, Wash. She passed away surrounded by family on July 13, 2016. Doris is survived by her children Maria and her husband Wiley, George and his wife Shelly, Anna and her husband Allen, ten grandchildren: Brianna (Jack), Elisha (Jon), Dexter (Sarah), Ashlyn, Carter, Regan, Ethan, March, Jack, and Ava; five great-grandchildren: Brennan & Elizabeth, Theodore & Loriol, and Lydia Dorinda; stepson William (Jackie) and his family. She is preceded in death by her stepson Jack and his wife Norine and survived by their children Jeff, Steve, Julie, and Marilee, and their families. Many family members in Spain survive her, most especially her brothers Ramiro, Jose Antonio, Tino, Carlos, and Miguel. She was preceded in death by her husband George, parents, and sister Maria Francisca.

Funeral mass will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday the 29th of July at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Royal City, Wash., with a recitation of the rosary preceding at 1:30 p.m.