Dorothy R. Youngberg

Dorothy R. Youngberg, 93, passed away Monday, November 3, 2025, at Lexington Health and Rehabilitation in Kenneth City, FL.

Born June 3, 1932, in St. Paul, MN, she was the second of 2 daughters born to Robert and Elsie (Strutz) Rosacker. Her older sister died in 1937.

She and her two children, Scott and Tracy, moved to St. Petersburg, FL when her children were toddlers in the mid-1950’s. It was then Dorothy became one of the first female taxicab drivers in St. Petersburg. In 1960 Dorothy’s father passed away in Cameron, WI and the three of them moved north to take over the motel that he owned. In 1966 they returned to St. Petersburg when the children started high school.

She was a nanny and caregiver to many families and throughout her life was an active church member. When a community member lost everything in a house fire, Dorothy organized a fundraiser for the family. Her hobbies included sewing, knitting and crocheting prayer shawls, making Raggedy Anns, clowns and many other crafty things.

When she was in her 80’s she wrote a book about her travels and adventures around the country. One trip when she was 61, she drove around the perimeter of the United States. She drove 9,320 miles visiting family and friends all the while staying only 5 nights in motels during the over 2-month journey.

She loved to share her stories and in 2013 won a writing award in the Intergenerational Storytelling Contest from among thousands of entries. The story is called In the Garden and is about a young friend with whom Dorothy found a mutual love of the hymn “In the Garden”.

Her son, Scott, passed away in 2009 and is greeting her in heaven. She is survived by her daughter, Tracy (Tim) Caddell of Pinellas Park, FL, her favorite grandson, Chris (Nong) Caddell and two step-grandsons Noam and Andy.

A memorial service will be held at St. Giles Manor II located at 7690 58th Street N. in Pinellas Park on Saturday, December 6 at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Girls Inc. of Pinellas, 7700 61st Street, Pinellas Park, Fl 33781.  https://girlsinc-pinellas.org/donate