Delores Mathis, 83, of Woonsocket died Tuesday morning, June 4 at the Prairie View Care Center, Woonsocket.
Mass of Christian Burial was held Saturday, June 8 at St. Wilfrid Catholic Church in Woonsocket with Fr. Jim Friedrich officiating. Burial was in St. Wilfrid Cemetery.  Visitation was Friday at the church with a scripture service.
Delores was born on March 25, 1930 to William and Ella (Garness) Ischen. She was raised on the family farm north of Artesian, where she spent many hours working alongside her father on the farm, loving the outdoors and animals. She attended school in Artesian, graduating high school in 1948.
On June 10, 1948, she was united in marriage to Theodore (Ted) J. Grassel. They purchased a farm south of Woonsocket, where they began their farming career. Delores and Ted had five children: Cheryl, Victoria, Jacqueline, JoLynn (deceased) and James.
Delores married Norval (Shorty) Mathis on Nov. 20, 1965 and they continued their farming.
Her love of people kept her active as a member of St. Wilfrid Catholic Church, St. Wilfrid Altar Society, St. Matthews Circle, and a leader of the TL Rangers 4-H Club. She also was a board member of Sanborn County Extension and a 4-H judge for various counties during Achievement Days and the State Fair.
Sewing and ceramics were Delores’ passion and hobby.  She could be found working on some project for family and friends, whether it was prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses, Care Bears for  her grandchildren or the dozens of appliquéd dishtowels for her family.
She was employed at VanDyke’s Supply Co. in Woonsocket from 1990 to 2002, when she retired due to arthritis preventing her from working in the “eye room.”
She is survived by her husband, Norval (Shorty) Mathis of Woonsocket; her children, Cheryl (Bill) Ball of Douglasville, Ga., and Vicki (Richard) Miller, Jackie (Everett) Evers and Jim (Luci) Grassel all of Woonsocket; a son-in-law, Claude Forbes of Woonsocket; 11 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; three sisters, Mildred (Bob) Hendrix of Artesian, Joyce (Clell) Scott of Downey, Calif. and Donna Uhre of Rapid City; one brother, William (Sheryl) Ischen of Artesian; a brother-in-law, John Grassel; three sisters-in-law, Mary Jo Vetter, Raeburn Moore and Elinor Unterbrunner; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Ted Grassel; a daughter, Jody Forbes; a brother-in-law, Marvin Uhre; plus numerous Grassel and Mathis in-laws.