The following biography was written by Dorothy's son Jack Wayne McLaughlin, who passed away April 20, 2021. Jack and I corresponded for many years about family history, and he asked me to take over our family's findagrave memorials when he died:
Dorothy was the oldest of ten children born to Carl C. and Etha Madge Gardner Dimmitt. While in high school, she fell in love with her lifetime mate and they were married. She raised her two boys during the latter part of the Great Depression, and admitted that she had a hard time sometimes "making ends meet". At one time all she had for dinner was a package of grape Koolaid. She put some corn starch in it to thicken it and that's what she and Delbert had for dinner. Delbert said it was so bad that not even the dog would eat it. Dorothy was a kind and loving mother. She always looked out for her two boys over everything else. She loved doing genealogy and continually collected records of the Dimmitt line her whole life. She laughed one time when she said anytime she went to the Ottumwa Court House the people would say, "Here comes Dorothy again -- hide the records." She and her mother would go to different cemeteries and copy the information of the family from the stones. Both she and her mother have told of special experiences they have had while collecting cemetery records. She was very proud of her Dimmitt pioneers who helped settle Wapello County. She was determined to finish her high school classes and when she was about 50, she took night classes so she could get her GED. She was proud that she was able to get her high school diploma. She and her husband, in their later years, became members of the Latter-day Saint Church and were very active in it. In her last years, she and Delbert moved to California to be close to their two boys. She started having breathing problems -- choking and then not being able to get her breath. Delbert would punch her in the back and that helped her start breathing again. One morning Delbert went in to tell her in bed that he was going to town. When he got back, she was still in bed and he couldn't seem to raise her. He called the ambulance, she was taken to the hospital in Hemet, CA and later she was pronounced dead by her doctor. Her funeral was held in Hemet, and Delbert had her body shipped back to Ottumwa, Iowa to be buried in Shaul Cemetery. We miss you mom!
Dorothy was the oldest of ten children born to Carl C. and Etha Madge Gardner Dimmitt. While in high school, she fell in love with her lifetime mate and they were married. She raised her two boys during the latter part of the Great Depression, and admitted that she had a hard time sometimes "making ends meet". At one time all she had for dinner was a package of grape Koolaid. She put some corn starch in it to thicken it and that's what she and Delbert had for dinner. Delbert said it was so bad that not even the dog would eat it. Dorothy was a kind and loving mother. She always looked out for her two boys over everything else. She loved doing genealogy and continually collected records of the Dimmitt line her whole life. She laughed one time when she said anytime she went to the Ottumwa Court House the people would say, "Here comes Dorothy again -- hide the records." She and her mother would go to different cemeteries and copy the information of the family from the stones. Both she and her mother have told of special experiences they have had while collecting cemetery records. She was very proud of her Dimmitt pioneers who helped settle Wapello County. She was determined to finish her high school classes and when she was about 50, she took night classes so she could get her GED. She was proud that she was able to get her high school diploma. She and her husband, in their later years, became members of the Latter-day Saint Church and were very active in it. In her last years, she and Delbert moved to California to be close to their two boys. She started having breathing problems -- choking and then not being able to get her breath. Delbert would punch her in the back and that helped her start breathing again. One morning Delbert went in to tell her in bed that he was going to town. When he got back, she was still in bed and he couldn't seem to raise her. He called the ambulance, she was taken to the hospital in Hemet, CA and later she was pronounced dead by her doctor. Her funeral was held in Hemet, and Delbert had her body shipped back to Ottumwa, Iowa to be buried in Shaul Cemetery. We miss you mom!
The following biography was written by Dorothy's son Jack Wayne McLaughlin, who passed away April 20, 2021. Jack and I corresponded for many years about family history, and he asked me to take over our family's findagrave memorials when he died:
Dorothy was the oldest of ten children born to Carl C. and Etha Madge Gardner Dimmitt. While in high school, she fell in love with her lifetime mate and they were married. She raised her two boys during the latter part of the Great Depression, and admitted that she had a hard time sometimes "making ends meet". At one time all she had for dinner was a package of grape Koolaid. She put some corn starch in it to thicken it and that's what she and Delbert had for dinner. Delbert said it was so bad that not even the dog would eat it. Dorothy was a kind and loving mother. She always looked out for her two boys over everything else. She loved doing genealogy and continually collected records of the Dimmitt line her whole life. She laughed one time when she said anytime she went to the Ottumwa Court House the people would say, "Here comes Dorothy again -- hide the records." She and her mother would go to different cemeteries and copy the information of the family from the stones. Both she and her mother have told of special experiences they have had while collecting cemetery records. She was very proud of her Dimmitt pioneers who helped settle Wapello County. She was determined to finish her high school classes and when she was about 50, she took night classes so she could get her GED. She was proud that she was able to get her high school diploma. She and her husband, in their later years, became members of the Latter-day Saint Church and were very active in it. In her last years, she and Delbert moved to California to be close to their two boys. She started having breathing problems -- choking and then not being able to get her breath. Delbert would punch her in the back and that helped her start breathing again. One morning Delbert went in to tell her in bed that he was going to town. When he got back, she was still in bed and he couldn't seem to raise her. He called the ambulance, she was taken to the hospital in Hemet, CA and later she was pronounced dead by her doctor. Her funeral was held in Hemet, and Delbert had her body shipped back to Ottumwa, Iowa to be buried in Shaul Cemetery. We miss you mom!
Dorothy was the oldest of ten children born to Carl C. and Etha Madge Gardner Dimmitt. While in high school, she fell in love with her lifetime mate and they were married. She raised her two boys during the latter part of the Great Depression, and admitted that she had a hard time sometimes "making ends meet". At one time all she had for dinner was a package of grape Koolaid. She put some corn starch in it to thicken it and that's what she and Delbert had for dinner. Delbert said it was so bad that not even the dog would eat it. Dorothy was a kind and loving mother. She always looked out for her two boys over everything else. She loved doing genealogy and continually collected records of the Dimmitt line her whole life. She laughed one time when she said anytime she went to the Ottumwa Court House the people would say, "Here comes Dorothy again -- hide the records." She and her mother would go to different cemeteries and copy the information of the family from the stones. Both she and her mother have told of special experiences they have had while collecting cemetery records. She was very proud of her Dimmitt pioneers who helped settle Wapello County. She was determined to finish her high school classes and when she was about 50, she took night classes so she could get her GED. She was proud that she was able to get her high school diploma. She and her husband, in their later years, became members of the Latter-day Saint Church and were very active in it. In her last years, she and Delbert moved to California to be close to their two boys. She started having breathing problems -- choking and then not being able to get her breath. Delbert would punch her in the back and that helped her start breathing again. One morning Delbert went in to tell her in bed that he was going to town. When he got back, she was still in bed and he couldn't seem to raise her. He called the ambulance, she was taken to the hospital in Hemet, CA and later she was pronounced dead by her doctor. Her funeral was held in Hemet, and Delbert had her body shipped back to Ottumwa, Iowa to be buried in Shaul Cemetery. We miss you mom!
Family Members
Siblings
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
See more McLaughlin or Dimmitt memorials in:
- Shaul Cemetery McLaughlin or Dimmitt
- Ottumwa McLaughlin or Dimmitt
- Wapello County McLaughlin or Dimmitt
- Iowa McLaughlin or Dimmitt
- USA McLaughlin or Dimmitt
- Find a Grave McLaughlin or Dimmitt
Advertisement
