Dorothy Beatrice Row

Dottie was born on March 20th, 1936, in Huntington, Indiana to Claude & Lura Gephart, who were in their 40’s and quite surprised, yet delighted, with their bonus baby girl.  Dottie joined siblings Willodean, Max, Orlo and Evelyn. Brother, Denvin and infant sister, Carol Ann had passed away prior to Dottie’s birth.  Being the baby of the family, with siblings 7 to 20 years her senior, Dottie was adored and spoiled by her brothers, sisters, and parents.  The added element of being a redhead resulted in Dottie growing into equal parts loving and feisty.  She worshipped her siblings but was driven to strut her independence from an early age.  Dottie transitioned to Paradise on November 29, 2023. She was 87 years young.

In the 1950’s, Dottie spent every extra hour of her early teen years with friends at the “roller rink” in Huntington. By age 16, Dottie had developed into a pre-professional roller skater.  She was recruited to go to Germany to participate in the professional circuit of international competitions, but her Dad would not let her go.  Her independent personality did not take this well, however, she continued to skate locally and cherished her multitude of costumes, many made by her sister, Evelyn.  Her roller skates were her most prized possession.

After getting married at 18, Sheree arrived 10 months later, and brother Chris followed in two years. Dottie eventually met and then married Lou on January 4th, 1963, which was also Lou’s birthday. (This week would have been their 61st Anniversary). Not only was Lou the true love of her life, he embraced the opportunity to be another parent to Sheree and Chris. In 1967, Lou and Dottie made the decision to move the family to Florida.  They had no jobs, only the determination to raise their family in the warmer climate of Florida, away from the snow.  They quickly landed employment and the family adventure of living in Florida began. It was a rough start, with a family of four living in a single room apartment, and eventually graduating to a “real house” in St. Petersburg. It was in St. Pete that Dottie found her career in aerospace electrical wiring.  Dottie was considered an expert at her job and held great pride in wiring circuit boards of NASA rockets, space shuttles and the space station. She worked many hours of overtime in the 70’s for various successful missions.

In 1977, Dottie gained her son-in-love, David. The two of them held a long and very special bond. She shared his love of the Seminoles they cheered ferociously together. With her feistiness and his accommodating nature, they collaborated in crazy escapades together.  She was truly his second mother and likewise, he was like her own. Dottie also loved her daughters-in-law, first Nikki’s mother, Veniece, and then Joyce, who was devoted to Dottie. She handmade many personal love-gifts for “Mom” that were cherished deeply.  Dottie loved her bonus kid, Lori (Sheree’s BFF since 6th grade) like her own. Lori was extremely loyal to Dottie and vice versa.  Lori’s sense of humor was always a good match for Dottie’s feistiness, especially during card games. (Dottie always won.)

Dottie’s absolute greatest joys in life were her 3 granddaughters, Jessica, Nikki and Emily (aka, Emily Anne with an E).  Grandma adored them and relished times spent together playing (very competitive) cards, scratching backs, telling stories and laughing at inappropriate comments (from their feisty Gma, of course). Many hours were spent on the water fishing, swimming and playing in Gdad & Gma’s boat, “Dottie’s O’Time”. Each of the girls had a unique and special relationship with their Grandma.  Jessica, Nikki and Emily will each tell you they were her favorite.  Which was true. Each of them WERE her “favorite”.  Grandma attended and traveled to a plethora of dance recitals, softball tournaments, graduations, and birthday celebrations. She celebrated their accomplishments and comforted them in difficult times.  She loved those girls so much.  Long before Jessica married John, Gma, instantly loved and adopted him as her Grandson-in-love.  Likewise, John considered Gma as his own grandmother and catered to her whenever he could. This is why John was added to the list of her “favorite”.

As the great-grands hit the scene, Dottie only became more engaged with them.  Ricky (22) was her rock and constant sidekick. Nikki and Ricky lived nearby so he spent most of his free time with Grandma and Granddad. Their bond was strong, and their relationship was close.  Ricky could share anything with Grandma and she adored him.  Dottie was “GGMa” to Ashton (16), Emory (15) and Hayes (13). They adored their GGMA and always enjoyed being with her. She played with them and took an interest in their lives. If GGMa couldn’t travel for their events, she found ways to stay connected.  She was a master at FaceTime and Siri was her close friend, so she stayed in touch with them.  GGMa always made sure they had a birthday card with $10 in it, and a special message from her. She has passed on many stories and family history. Her Great Grands knew they were fortunate to have her in their lives. They will miss her greatly.

Dottie was the favorite Aunt to many nieces and nephews. She stayed in touch with them despite living great distances apart. They will tell you they cherished time with her. They will also attest to her feistiness. They loved it.

In her final days, Dottie was gifted with an incredible memory. She loved to share stories from the past, as well as tell us all the gossip from the Nursing facility.  Recently she mentioned she was considering charging for her services as a Counselor to staff that shared hardships going on in their lives with her. She was that person who would console a troubled soul, offer an anecdote, tell them to “keep their tailgate up” or “you have to grab the bull by its horns”, and then offer them a Werthers.  This is why Dottie, our Mom, was everybody’s favorite. We will miss her greatly but take comfort in knowing she is in perfect form, has met Jesus, and is whooping it up in Heaven with Dad and all of her family who have gone before her.

A Celebration of Life Service for Dorothy (Dottie) Beatrice Gephart Row is scheduled for January 6th at 3pm at Park Place Wesleyan Church in Pinellas Park, Florida. 4400 70th Ave. N. Pinellas Park, FL 33781. A reception will follow the service.

Dottie’s family would like to thank Suncoast Hospice and the staff at Lexington Health and Rehab Center for the loving care provided to our mom in the form of medical assistance, words of comfort and for praying with/over/for her.