Dorothy Ann Wildermuth Vekasi

DOROTHY ANN WILDERMUTH VEKASI Naples, FL/ Grand Rapids, MI/Gary, IN Passed away on August 28, 2007, of natural causes. She was predeceased by her husband of 56 years, Michael, in 2003, after which she gave up their Naples home in Imperial Estates and moved to Bentley Village. Her summer home was in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Dottie was born on January 4, 1926, in Gary Indiana, to architect Joe Henry Wildermuth and Madeleine Wildermuth. She was educated at Horace Mann High School in Gary and the University of Wisconsin where she earned a B.A. in Sociology and affiliated with Delta Gamma sorority. She married Michael, a Purdue University graduate, in 1947. They settled near Grand Rapids, Michigan, their home for more than 30 years, where he established a successful business. They were active members of Cascade Christian Church and their three sons graduated from Cascade and Forest Hills schools. They maintained lifelong close friendships and associations from both Gary and Grand Rapids. In 1981, Dottie and Mike moved to Florida with Mike's expanding businesses. They were active members of First Presbyterian Church and Imperial Country Club. The last 25 years of her life, Dottie became engrossed with family genealogy, taking her records to a professional level of thoroughness and accuracy. More recently, she wrote and published her memoir, "To You with Love", including vivid stories of her childhood, coming of age, and family years, abundantly illustrated. It has been read with interest and pleasure by friends and family. Dottie is survived by sons James M. Vekasi and his wife Mary L. (Holcombe) Vekasi and their daughters, Sarah and Kristin; David L. Vekasi of Palm Harbor, Florida and his wife Pama (Belcher Sullivan) Vekasi, and his children, Katy Vekasi DeCarolis and Joseph and one grandchild, Dominick; and Dr. William H. Vekasi of Knoxville, Tennessee, and his wife Debra (Schneider) Vekasi and their children, Andrea Vekasi Hagood, Alison, and Michael, and two grandchildren, Natalie and Benjamin. Dorothy was also predeceased by her brother Richard L. Wildermuth, architect, of East Lyme, Connecticut, in 1989. Dorothy's uncle was Judge Ora L. Wildermuth, Gary's first school teacher, first City Court judge, founder of the Gary Public Library and its president for 50 years, a member of Indiana University's Board of Trustees for 25 years and its president for 15 years. A funeral service will be held at the Cascade Christian Church at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 20, after interment in the family plot in the Cascade Township Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the National Headache Foundation (820 N. Orleans, Suite 217, Chicago, Illinois 60610-3132), a source of information and support to her during a long battle with pain.