ELCHO, Wis. ­– Laurine (Amfahr) Harms, 92, of Elcho, Wis., formerly of Mendota, died Nov. 12, 2020 at home with her family.

A private graveside service will be held at the Elcho Cemetery.

Laurine was born May 26, 1928 to Laurence and Josephine (Sondgeroth) Amfahr. She married Dean Harms on Sept. 13, 1952. He preceded her in death.

Survivors include one daughter, Carol (Ken) Brooks of Post Lake, Wis.; three grandchildren, Steven Brooks (Nichole) of Hartland, Wis., Laura (Ed Christensen) Brooks of Milwaukee, Wis. and Ryan (Claire) Brooks of Wausau, Wis.; two great-grandchildren, Lily and Collin Brooks of Hartland, Wis.; a son-in-law, Ron (Nancy) Heuertz of St. Charles; four sisters, Verona Whitmore, Carol Fischer, Doris Mellott and Roberta Lauer, all of Mendota; and a brother, Henry Amfahr of Merced, Calif.

She was preceded in death by her husband; one daughter, Nancy; and her parents.

Laurine grew up on the family dairy farm, the oldest of six children. She graduated from Mendota High School in 1946 and St. Charles Hospital School of Nursing in Aurora in 1949. She met her husband after graduating from nursing school and they married in 1952. She left hospital nursing and moved with Dean to Elburn, where they worked to grow a small family business into Harms Chevrolet, a dealership known throughout the Fox Valley for almost 50 years. In addition to raising their two daughters, Laurine became the dealership’s business manager. Their success in business was recognized through numerous awards that included travel around the country and Europe. Her calm and friendly spirit and her abundant generosity made her an exceptional nurse, and she took great satisfaction in caring for others, both as a registered nurse at St. Charles Hospital and in providing at-home nursing for many members of her family. Laurine’s interests were many, and with Dean’s encouragement, they multiplied. She learned to fish on their honeymoon in northern Wisconsin and over many years of fishing, she caught more than her fair share. She and Dean became water skiers and snowmobilers when both sports were in their early days. After many years of camping along the Rock River in Illinois, they preferred more permanent shelter and bought a log cabin on Upper Post Lake. It became their permanent home and was the core of year-round activities that drew their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family, and friends to them. They became members of Bass Lake Country Club, where they taught their grandchildren to golf and where with luck and determination, Laurine scored and registered two holes-in-one.

Laurine was known for her exceptional cooking and baking, and even into her 90s, she served plentiful meals to a large family and many friends. Her cookies and cakes were crowd favorites, and she thoroughly enjoyed giving them to others. In addition to food, she could be counted on whenever there was a need, great or small. She and Dean shared their generosity and love of fun with family and friends in many, many ways.