Obituary of Dolores Ann Engebretsen

Dolores “Ann” Ormond Engebretsen, 90, died on July 19 at 9:58 PM in her home in Santa Cruz, California.  She was the widow of Ray Pomeroy Engebretsen.

Born at home in Suttons Bay, Michigan, on March 28, 1929, she was the daughter of Roy and Fern Ormond, and younger sister of Barbara Ormond and Ruth Gardner.  She attended High School at Mount Mercy Academy in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  She earned a scholarship to Mercy College in Detroit.  After her first year of college, she spent the summer picking peaches to earn money to travel to California with her friends.  She got as far as Sacramento, California, rented an apartment from the man who would become her first husband, Peter Amoruso, and never went back to Mercy College.  In her 50’s, she did return to college at American River College in Sacramento and earned her degree in Human Services.

Ann was a talented watercolor artist.  She loved to sing, loved children, and had a heart of gold.  She met her second husband, Ray, through mutual friends.  Ann and Ray raised their blended family long before the era of the Brady Bunch.

She is survived by her daughter, Angela (Eli) and their children Benjamin and Sasha; stepchildren Karen Engebretsen, Jeanne Cunningham (Mark), Danny Engebretsen (Rose), Darlene Engebretsen (Calvin), and ten grandchildren; her niece and nephew Kate Taberski (Dave) and Tom Gardner (Barb).

Graveside services will take place July 30, 2019 at 1PM at the Oakwood Cemetery in Traverse City, Michigan.  Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Smile Train (smiletrain.org), Veterans of Foreign Wars (vfw.org), or St. Jude (stjude.org).