- Date Of Birth: February 6, 1921
- Date Of Death: January 17, 2021
- State: Ohio
Dorothy Schaffer, of Norwalk, Ohio passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, January 17, 2021, in her 100th year. She was born on February 6, 1921, in her grandparents’ home in Havana, Ohio, to the late Mary and Joseph Mirtes — their first child.
Dorothy lived her long life to the fullest. She was blessed with abundant energy, very good health, a huge capacity for work, a friendly, out-going personality, an impish sense of fun, a faithful, loving heart and a strong desire to be of help to anyone she found in need. She manifested an early passion for ice cream which never left her. She had childhood memories of rollicking rides in the family’s horse-drawn cutter and of her Dad’s very first automobile.
After finishing her eighth grade at St. Sebastian’s School in Bismark, Dorothy needed to leave school to help take care of her younger sister and brothers while her mother recuperated from tuberculosis. For the next ten years, families with someone ill, or a new baby or some other need called upon Dorothy help care for children, assist with housework and prepare meals.
During the Second World War, Dorothy’s GI penpal Fred Schaffer, contrived to present her with a diamond ring, though thousands of miles away. On May 4, 1946, Dorothy and Fred were married. They made a home, a family and a life together on a 100-acre farm in rural Norwalk. Their life was woven into that of their extended families, their St. Alphonsus parish community, and their neighborhood. As years passed, their love and devotion for each other only grew stronger and more beautiful. Even after Fred’s death in 1993, after decades of illness and incapacity, Dorothy’s deep care and gratitude for her beloved Fred only burned brighter.
Dorothy lived nearly 75-years on that farm that became her home as a young bride.
Dorothy is survived by her daughters, Catherine Schaffer, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Mary Schaffer, of Saint Joseph, Minnesota; sister-in-law, Lucille Mirtes, of Bellevue, Ohio; brothers-in-law Leonard and Alex Schaffer, both of Norwalk, Ohio; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Fred Schaffer; daughter, Susan Schaffer; siblings: Mildred Schneider, Robert, Charles and Norbert Mirtes; and many brothers- and sisters-in-law.
