Obituary: Smith, Dorothy Rose (Roberts, Schernitzki)
Age 94
She could not tolerate her mother’s milk, so they fed her bean juice from a dropper and kept her in a box by the warmer oven.
She started life as a fighter and this spirit carried her through a long life of struggles and hardships.
Her family lost their home and livelihood in the stock market crash and the dust bowl in the Midwest, eventually causing the breakup of the family.
They scattered in all directions.
Four wars followed, and the loss of two husbands and her beloved companion.
Dorothy was a caregiver.
Her first job at age 14 was as a nurse to a cancer patient.
She took in foster children, not through the system but just strays her kids brought home.
She nursed all her husbands through many illnesses and was always there for her family, friends, loved ones, and anyone who needed help.
After many miscellaneous jobs, she received training as an accountant and worked many years for Murphy Favor Investments.
She retired in 1981 and started her own tax accounting business.
She was the most honest person we ever met and would spend hours looking for a penny, so she could balance her books.
While she would fight fiercely for the rights of her family and friends, she never learned to stand up and fight for herself, and because of this, she was denied the recognition and credit she deserved.
She faced life with the same steadfast determination that many of her generation held.
She carried herself with the grace and dignity of the lady she was.
Dorothy lived a long life and through it all she remained a sweet gentle, loving woman.
She will remain in the hearts of the family and will be forever missed.
She is survived by her sons George (Joyce) Schernitzki and Darryl “Zkeeter” Schernitzki; her daughter Lynne (Larry) Schierman; sisters Della Samuels, Linda (John) Sitton, and Jean Lamb; grandchildren Mark (Robin) Schernitzki, Lori Ann (Randy) Skeels, Kristina (David) Coffeen, Angela Schierman, Bobbi Joi (Brandon) Allen, and Brandi Schernitzki; great-grandchildren Kassy Jo (Andrew) Dupris, Kevin Schernitzki, Jeffrey Bishop, Henry, Haily, and Hunter Allen, and great-great-grandchildren Kaysen and Noah Dupris; many nieces, nephews, and friends.
She is preceded in death by her beloved husbands John Schernitzki, Samuel Smith, and companion Leslie Novakovich, her brothers Roscoe Roberts, Charles Roberts, and Carl (Anita) Roberts, sister Iva (Leslie) Fleetwood, and brothers-in-law Malvin Samuels and P. Alan Lamb.
A Visitation will be Saturday, December 28, 2013 at 12:00 noon, followed by a Funeral Mass at 1:00 pm at St. Thomas Moore Parish.
Please visit Dorothy’s on-line memorial page at www.hennesseyfuneralhomes.com to leave a message of condolence.