Ethel Dahir died on May 2, 2015 at the age of 97, with family at her side. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 8, 1917. Her parents were William and Louise (Gertsch) Jones. She graduated from high school at the age of 15 with a full four year tuition scholarship to Washington University. She graduated from there at the age of 19 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After a year of graduate work in Social Work she was employed by the Social Planning Council. After marriage to Fred Dahir in 1940, they lived and worked at the Erie Settlement House in Chicago. In 1943, they joined the Fellowship Farm in Prairie du Sac and after a year there, they started farming on their own. With the friendship and kindness of Bill Schultz, they owned a small farm near Prairie du Sac, including a part of their house built in 1848. Ethel went on to achieve her Master's Degree in Education and History from the University of WI as well as certification in Guidance Counseling in 1960. She taught high school classes at WI Heights HS for about 20 years.

Ethel loved travelling, camping, and reading. It chagrined her in her 90's that she was no longer able to read over a hundred novels a year, or hit the road when classes ended. She consumed the daily news and world events and was a terrific conversationalist. She was a defender of the disenfranchised and working class, and had little time for politicians who did not, especially some of our current ones. She would give you both a hug and the advice of someone who lived an honest life. She was a sympathetic mother who believed that her children should get out and see the world and achieve something of significance. She never could spend a penny on herself and saved everything of some value with the planet's future in mind.

Ethel is survived by her five children: Jim, John (Julie), Kathleen (Pierre), George (Joan) and Sally (Steve) Stoddard, 10 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. Memorials would be appreciated to the local libraries or hospital.