Dorthea Frances Brower

Dorthea Frances Brower, of Temple, was born August 18, 1942, to Ralph Schuety and Marge Cline Schuety of Fayette, Iowa. She passed away on Sunday, August 31, 2025, at Baylor Scott and White Hospital in Temple, at age 83. She was preceded in death by her brother Robert, her sister Jean, and her husband Frank.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Allen and Viola Cox of Killeen, son and daughter-in-law, Monte and Kathy Cox of Maryland; daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Derick Hollowell of Hurst; and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Carroll Schuety in Iowa; sister, Beverly Lundeen in Minnesota; brother, John Schuety in South Dakota; and brother, Ramon Schuety in Montana; and a great many cousins, nieces, and nephews who looked up to Dorthea.

As a child, Dorthea went to a small country school in Frog Hollow and later transferred to Fayette High School in Fayette, Iowa. She was confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church which set the foundation of her faith. She enjoyed playing basketball and singing in the Choir.

After a long day of work, she loved to come home and relax with a cup of coffee, some grapes, and a good Omar Sharif movie like Doctor Zhivago. Her love of children led her to open her home to many foster children over the years, helping to educate them and prepare them to live their own lives just as she did for her own children.

Any child who grew up in her house was immediately absorbed in her passion for cooking and singing. Every weekend, she could be seen canning vegetables from her garden, making a strawberry rhubarb pie, or a large pot of soup that everyone could enjoy. She loved and lived her life daily, giving all her love to her family, friends, and patients.

Dorthea was a lifelong caregiver who studied to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After graduation, she married James Cox and raised three children. As a military spouse she lived in Germany, Hawaii, and eventually settled in Texas where she became a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) and worked in hospitals, correctional facilities, and nursing homes. After retiring as an LVN from a State Correctional Facility in Texas, she moved to a rural farm between Kosse and Thornton TX, where she raised cows with her new husband Frank Brower and continued to work as an LVN at a nursing home in Mexia, TX until the age of 81. She will be loved and missed by her entire family.