Robert E. DOROTHY

DOROTHY, SEVERS, WHITNEY, LOEWENBERG, WODRICH, DRAPEAU, MITCHINSON, JOHNSON, LANCIONI, BROWN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 3/29/2013 at 12:45:19

September 17, 1924 ---- March 25, 2013

Robert (Bob) E. Dorothy, 88, of Dubuque, passed away Monday, March 25, 2013, at Stonehill Care Center, surrounded by family members. Friends may call from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 28, at Reiff Funeral Home, Farley, Iowa. Visitation will be followed by a brief service at 2 p.m. at the funeral home with Pastor Penny Thompson presiding, with burial following in Dubuque Memorial Gardens in Key West.

Bob was born on September 17, 1924, in Blakesburg, Iowa, son of Lee and Gertrude Dorothy. His father was killed in a railroad accident when Bob was only four years old, leaving his mother to raise nine children on her own. He married Fern Louise Severs on June 3, 1944, in Washington, D.C. where he was stationed during his stint in the Navy. After his time in the service, Bob received a B.A. in English from the University of Kansas and, while making a living as publisher and editor of two hometown newspapers, pursued his M.A. and a career in economic development. He accepted the position of manager of the Dubuque Industrial Bureau in 1962 and was responsible for bringing several companies (now in the Kerper Blvd. area) to Dubuque. One of the city's "Ambassadors," he had the foresight to purchase land west of Dubuque that would later be sold and become part of Peosta, Iowa. In 1979, he served as president of the Mid-America Economic Development Council. Bob later took an industrial developer position in Papillion, Neb., just south of Omaha. Toward the end of his business career, he served in the same capacity for Wright County, Iowa, before finally returning to the Dubuque area to retire and be near his family.

In 1963, Bob bought a farm near St. Catherine, Iowa, and developed it into the cluster of lots known as Echo Hills, later building his wife's dream home overlooking the Mississippi River.

Throughout all of this time, Bob never neglected his writing muse. In the early sixties, he created a Midwestern business magazine entitled "The Economic Developer." He took and later taught fiction-writing courses and won several local awards for short stories. While in Nebraska, he wrote for magazines and papers that catered to the elderly and had a regular column in "The Golden View." His simple stories were based on small-town life in Iowa. They were so appreciated that he published a collection of them in a book entitled "Barefoot Trails and Barefaced Tales." Even after moving to an independent-living facility in Dubuque, he volunteered to interview his neighbors and write the column, "Getting to Know..." in their monthly newsletter so residents could learn more about one another.

Hand-in-hand with his writing pursuits was Bob's interest in researching the Dorothy family tree. He spent decades following leads from all over the world, piecing together and verifying information to build a history of our family name. Thanks to his dedication, we now know that our family originated in Wales and then migrated to Virginia, spreading west from there.

Bob was a loving father and husband. He spent many evenings and weekends building remote-controlled model airplanes with his son; he loved to go sledding in the winter, and taught all of his children and grandchildren the fun of card games. Family poker games were a tradition at any holiday gathering. He was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and never missed one of their games on TV.

Surviving are his wife of 68 years, Fern Dorothy, of Dubuque; children, Philip (Cheryl Whitney) Dorothy, of Iowa City, Kathleen (Roger) Loewenberg, of Peosta, and Rebecca (Scott) Wodrich, of Dubuque; grandchildren, Michael (Kelly) Drapeau, of LeClaire, Lisa Dorothy, of Joliet, Ill., Sara (Bill) Mitchinson, of Elburn, Ill., Lisa (Hans) Johnson, of North Liberty, Iowa, Megan (Jeff) Lancioni, of Franklin, Wis., Christopher (Val) Loewenberg, of Dubuque, and Ryan (Emily) Brown, of Stoughton, Wis.; and 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by all eight of his siblings and a daughter, Nancy (Jerry) Brown, of Peosta.

The family wishes to extend a special thank-you to the staff at Stonehill Care Center and Hospice of Dubuque for the care given to our father and the support offered to his family.

Telegraph Herald -- Dubuque, Iowa
March 27, 2013