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"Dorothy Sophia Heltzel was born at the height of the Great Depression on April 2, 1933 on her mother’s kitchen table in Spencer, Nebraska. She was the fifth child of seven born to Raymond and Judith Velder. Dorothy grew up on the family farm and attended Spencer High School where she was a majorette. She often reminisced about how fun her majorette days were and how much she loved the white boots and the short black skirt! Dorothy and her closest girlfriends known as &quot;The Big Six,&quot; remained in touch throughout their lives. After high school Dorothy moved to Sioux City, Iowa for a time to care for her sister Darlyne’s young children after her passing. She later moved to Philip, South Dakota where she met and married Gene Heltzel. Together Gene and Dorothy had six children John, Debbie, Jeff, Laurie, Mark and Michael. \tThe family eventually settled in Glendale, Arizona. After raising her children, Dorothy spent time as an elder care nurse and volunteered in the Church as a Eucharistic Minister, a Catechism teacher and the women’s ministry. Dorothy has always been an avid reader who sought adventure both within the pages of a book and in her own life. Dorothy traveled quite a lot over the years. Whether it was visiting her son John while he was stationed overseas in London, going to Hawaii with her sister Ann or her pilgrimage to the Holy Land where she visited Medjugorje and the site where Mother Mary has been known to appear. As a grandmother, Dorothy enjoyed spending summers at the beach in San Diego with her grandchildren and more recently trips to Disneyland. \tDorothy lived her life guided by her faith in God and her love for her family. While it would be nearly impossible to fully express all that Dorothy&#39;s family will miss about her, her beautiful blue eyes, her belief that no occasion was too insignificant for lipstick and a sparkly piece of jewelry, and her sense of humor are just a few of the simple things that will never fail to make us smile as we remember her fondly. \tDorothy is preceded in death by her parents, her late husband Gene, her first born John and her siblings Darlyne, Daryl, Norman and Alan. She is survived by her two sisters Jean Pelc and Ann Williams, her children Debbie Maher (Jim), Jeff Heltzel (Barbie), Laurie Heltzel, Mark Heltzel (Sharon), and Michael Heltzel (Christan) as well as her eighteen grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren."
<https://www.hccfh.org/obituaries/Dorothy--Sophia-Heltzel-?obId=22095003>