Dorothy E Hartline Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Dorothy E. Hartline, 95, of Royalton Township died Thursday, May 21, 2020 at the Willows in Royalton Township. Family services celebrating her life will be held at the Fairplain Chapel of Florin Funeral Service in Benton Township. Burial will follow in Spring Run Cemetery in Royalton Township. Memorials may be made to the Zion UCC Church in St. Joseph, Animal Aid or the Blue Star Mothers. Please share messages, memories or photos at www.florin.net. Dorothy was born on Aug 21, 1924 in Pearl Grange to Clarence and Minnie Snyder. She went to the Pearl Grange School and then graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 1942. During WW II she wrote letters to the service men to boost their morale and she filled many scrapbooks of pictures and articles of their whereabouts. Dorothy always put a Gold Star next to those service men who died for our country. She married her husband, Gale Hartline, in 1945 and he preceded her in death in 1989. Dorothy wrote a monthly newsletter for the Stroke Patients Encouragement Club after her husband suffered a stroke in 1982. After High School Dorothy was employed at Burnette Casting Co in Keeler, Industrial Rubbers Goods and later managed summer apartment rentals for T.C. Popp in Grand Mere. She was involved in many area organizations where she would always be helping in some way. She was a longtime member of Zion UCC Church where she would be helping at the church’s Swiss Steak dinners, a former member of the Tri-Unit Fire Dept. Auxiliary, a member of the Blue Star Mothers Chapter 177 where she helped pack Christmas boxes and the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 585 where she helped during their pancake breakfasts and steak dinners. Dorothy also loved doing crossword puzzles and helping people. Dorothy also enjoyed growing things especially in the 1960’s growing sweet corn and then selling it in her front yard for 35 cents per dozen. Later she raised Blue Spruce pines, red and black raspberries, apples, and peach. Many summers she would help her cousins, the Schaenfelds, at their farm/market stand in Sodus. The family will always remember her surprise 90th birthday party where everyone dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz. Her Oz family includes her son, Alan (Marie) Hartline of Benton Harbor; her 5 grand”munchkins”, Eileen (Tom) Dunsheath, David (Tami) Cox, Sr, David (Andrea) Zizkovsky, Jo’nice (Jason) Butler, and John (Jessica) Hartline; her 14 great grand”munchkins”, Lacie, Tracy, David, Jr., Kwaid, Kayleen, Addison, Lillian, Vivvian, Mikayla, Emma, Hunter, Gabriel, William and Matthew; and her 12 great great grand’munchkins”, Jason, Jacob, Jaxson, Kaylinn, Kwaid, Jr., McKenzie, Elnora, Emory, Emily, Hendrix, Layne, and Jordan. She was also preceded in death by her daughter, Karen Cox, in 1991, her 2 sisters, Marian and Evelyn, and her 2 brothers, Carl and Richard. So on the morning of Thursday, May 21, Dorothy tapped together the heels of her Ruby Slippers 3 times and said “there is no place like home”.

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Dorothy E Hartline

August 24, 1924 - May 21, 2020