Dorothy Hoelzle

1925 - 2020

Dorothy Hoelzle

Fremont - Matriarch of the Hoelzle dynasty of Fremont, Ohio Dorothy Hoelzle, 95, passed away from this world on December 18, 2020 at Memorial Hospital. Born on January 3, 1925 to Lawrence and Daisy Darr of Fremont, Dorothy grew up the second oldest of six children.

During the Great-Depression, Dorothy's family moved from Fremont to Akron, Ohio, where she attended St. Mary's High School. While there, she committed one of her few acts of rebellion- skipping school to see the movie "Gone With the Wind" at the theater. She graduated from St. Mary's in 1943.

Dorothy had a mind for numbers and she worked as a bookkeeper for Firestone Rubber during WWII. After the war, her family returned to Fremont, where she kept the books for the Fremont News Messenger.

Dorothy married recently-returned WWII solider Donald Hoelzle on September 6, 1948, after being introduced to him by her cousin. The two proceeded to have eight babies over the next 13 years.

Dorothy's children remember her as a no-nonsense mother. She didn't let them lay in bed on Saturday morning and always had a list of things for them to do. If they didn't wake up, she was known to toss a wet dishcloth in their faces to get them out of bed.

Dorothy was a devoted Catholic and regularly attended mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Fremont, Ohio. She sent all her children to St. Joe's Catholic School, where she worked as a secretary and bookkeeper. After her children were grown, she continued to volunteer at the St. Joe's school cafeteria for over 20 years, often serving lunch to her grandchildren who now attended the school.

Dorothy loved cross-stitch and travel. She took bus tours to Italy and Germany, but her favorite trip was to the Rose Bowl. In her 60's, she took swimming lessons at the local YMCA to overcome her lifelong fear of water.

Dorothy maintained a sharp mind and agile body her entire life, due to her lifelong habits of light eating, voracious reading and a daily dose of medicinal alcohol.

At the age of 91, she sold her home and moved into an independent living apartment at Bethany Place. She quickly dubbed her new home "The Funny Farm" and her main complaints were that the food lacked salt and everyone who lived there was so old.

Dorothy's superpower was her practicality in the face of high emotion. While life offered her many opportunities to ruffle her feathers, she met most challenges with a shrug of her shoulders and a tilt of her head as if to say "Well, that's life… what are we going to do about it?"

Dorothy is preceded in death by her parents (Lawrence and Daisy Darr), brother Lawrence "Juney" Jr., brother Frank Darr, brother Bernard (Chuck) Darr, sister Mary Moore, husband Donald Hoelzle, sons David and John, and daughter-in-law Charlotte Hoelzle.

She is survived by her brother Bob Darr, children: Larry (Judy) Hoelzle, Anne Hoelzle, Paul Hoelzle, Ed (Debi) Hoelzle, Tom (Tina) Hoelzle, and Steve (Vicki) Hoelzle, daughter in-law Linda Stricker, 21 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren whose names would be to numerous to list here but whom Dorothy always remembered each and every one and was proud of their success.

Dorothy's Mass of Christian Burial will be private for her family on Monday, December 21, 2020 at 10 AM in the St. Joseph Catholic Church, 709 Croghan St., Fremont, Ohio 43420, Rev Michael Roemmele, celebrant and will be livestreamed on the Hanneman-Chudzinski-Keller Funeral Home Facebook for the public to view. Interment will follow in the St. Joseph Cemetery. A Public Celebration of Life Service will be held at later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be gifted in Dorothy's honor to American Cancer Society, St Joseph Central Catholic High School or to the charity of the donors' choice.

Online condolences, as well as a fond memory may be shared with Dorothy's family by visiting www.hannemanfuneralhomes.com