- Date Of Birth: July 15, 1912
- Date Of Death: May 25, 2015
- State: Arizona
Dorothy Richards Geib died peacefully at the Olivia White Hospice Home on Memorial Day, May 25, 2015. Shewas 102, closing in on 103 when she passed. During herlifetime, she witnessed remarkable changes: two world wars,the great depression, passenger jets, and the advent of theinternet. Dorothy had lived a full life and was ready to departthis world.
Dorothy Yarnell Richards was born a coal miner’sdaughter in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania on July 15, 1912.She was the second child of Robert and Jennie Richardsand younger sibling to Jennie Fortner. Dorothy grew up inMahanoy City, graduating high school in 1930. After attendingBucknell College, she moved to Philadelphia in 1932 andbegan working for the Curtis Publishing Company.
Whileliving in Philadelphia she met her future husband of 57 years,Wayne Allen Geib during his sophomore year at JeffersonMedical School. They married in 1938 and after the start ofWWII the couple moved to Fort Devens in Groton, Massachusetts whereWayne served in theUS Army as a medical officer. The ensuing war years saw several moves from the FitzsimonsArmy Medical Center in Denver, Colorado to Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, toPanama City, Panama, and then back to Fitzsimons.At war’s end, Dorothy andWayne moved to Rapid City, South Dakota in 1947 to begintheir civilian life.
Two boys were born in the mid 1950s, Timothy then Philip, and Dorothy’slife became much busier. Many decades later she recalled the family years in Rapid as thehappiest time of her life. Dorothy was inducted into the P.E.O., an international philanthropicwomen’s organization in 1958, starting a deep involvement with the sisterhood that lasteduntil her death.The big flood of 1972 ended life in Rapid City, but fortunately the family survivedunlike the more than 200 people who perished including dear family friends. Dorothy andfamily next moved to Roanoke, Virginia, whereWayne worked at the local VA Hospital forthe next five years. After retirement in 1977, Dorothy andWayne moved to Hilton Head,South Carolina, where they lived until moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1986. Herhusband passed away in 1995 and then in 1999 she moved to Flagstaff where she thrived foranother 15 years until just two weeks before her death.Dorothy’s life was punctuated by numerous moves around the country and the world.She also embraced travel adventures. In 1962 she traveled to the USSR for a medicalconvention during the height of the cold war. At the age of 90 she went on a 2-week long tripto Italy accompanied by her two sons. In 2008 Dorothy celebrated 50 years of PEO sisterhoodand was formally honored at an event in Phoenix.
To mark her centennial, her sons hosted ajoyous luncheon celebration with family Flagstaff friends at The Cottage Place restaurant.Dorothy retained a sharp mind up to the end and was a formidable bridge player in herday. She was an avid reader and lifelong learner who took college courses as an adult ongeology, art, Christianity and other topics. For more than a decade she and her family attendedalumni classes at Dartmouth College whereWayne graduated in 1935, an experience shealways enjoyed since her busy boys were involved in their own classes and field trips. Sheloved going to the symphony and visiting art museums and galleries. Dorothy was a devoutChristian with a keen interest in biblical history and the life of Jesus.Dorothy is survived by her sons, Timothy Allen of Juneau, Alaska and Philip Robertof Lincoln, Nebraska, her daughter-in-law, Carrie Heitman, also of Lincoln, and fourgrandchildren: Nicholas Ainsa Geib, Annie Yarnell Geib, Sienna Sophia Heitman Geib, andMillicent Madolyn Heitman Geib.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband andsister Jennie Fortner.
