Dorothy Theobald

THEOBALD, WALRATH, KRON, ZAIGER, MONTGOMERY, HUCH, YEM, CONNER

Posted By: Tara (email)
Date: 3/15/2011 at 15:36:00

Dorothy Theobald, 85, of Iowa City died Friday at Lantern Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Coralville after a long illness.

A Service to Celebrate Dorothy’s Life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday March 15th at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City with Rev. Barrie Tritle officiating. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 4pm to 7pm at Lensing Funeral and Cremation Service, Iowa City.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are requested to the Iowa City Community School District Foundation and First United Methodist ChurchFoundation.
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Dorothy Walrath was born Sept. 25, 1925 to Frank and Laura Walrath in Cresco, Iowa. She attended Oelwein High School with her future husband, Richard Theobald.They were married Oct. 25, 1946 at what was then the Catholic Student Center in Iowa City, and later the rectory for St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Until her recent illness, Dick and Dorothy had their picture taken every year in the doorway of the building, reenacting their wedding day photo. They also celebrated their 50th anniversary there.

Dorothy attended Cornell College in Mount Vernon for a short time before moving to Iowa City with her husband. She worked at Iowa Book & Supply to help put Dick through pharmacy school at the University of Iowa.
Dorothy returned to school and received her bachelor's degree in education from the University of Iowa in 1968 and began teaching that fall. She later earned a master's degree in developmental reading from the University of Iowa. Dorothy taught first grade for 19 years at Herbert Hoover Elementary School in Iowa City. She also was very active in the Iowa City community.

Her biggest joy was teaching children to read. She kept track of all of her students and sent them cards when they graduated from high school. Her love of teaching was passed down to two of her children and four of her grandchildren followed in her footsteps.

She was a 50-year plus member of First United Methodist Church of Iowa City. Among her many community activities were serving as PTA president at Mark Twain Elementary School and as a longtime member of Chapter C.L. of the National T.T.T. Society. She also volunteered at Mercy Hospital Guild, where her husband served as the longtime director of pharmacy, and the free lunch program at Wesley House. She was an avid reader and member of the NN Book Club.She was a member of the Iowa City Education Association.

Dorothy and Dick were dedicated Hawkeye fans, and have been football season ticket holders for more than 50 years. They, their children and their spouses hold a total of 14 degrees from the University of Iowa.

Dorothy is survived by her husband, four children, Kathy Kron (Ted) of Iowa City, Laurie Zaiger (Mark) of Iowa City, Richard of Manitowoc, Wis., and William (Mary Lou) of Washington, D.C.; grandchildren, Justin Montgomery (Sara), Jessica Huch (Pete), Adam Zaiger (Jessica), Nathan Kron, Allison Yem (Veasnar), Nicholas Kron, Katherine Theobald, Laura Theobald, Brianna Theobald and James Theobald; and four great grandchildren, Drew, Tyler, and Jackson Montgomery, and Grace Huch.
Dorothy was preceded in death by sister Ruth Conner and brother Dan Walrath.

The family would like to express its appreciation to Dr. Rodney Zeitler for his dedicated care of our mother.