Dorothy Herrington

DOROTHY HERRINGTON

Cedar Rapids

Dorothy Marie (Donnan) Herrington was born Sept. 22, 1918, on a farm in Clinton Township west of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Harrison Gordon "Hal" Donnan and Mary (Esery) Donnan. Dorothy passed away peacefully Jan. 15, 2015. She was the youngest of eight siblings.

She graduated from Grant High School in 1936. She attended Coe College and St. Luke's Nursing School simultaneously, graduating with her nursing degree in 1941.

Dorothy then moved to New York City to attend the Orthopedic Hospital advanced studies for operating room nurses. While there she met H.E. "Gene" Herrington at a U.S.O. dance.

In 1943, she entered the Army Air Nurses Corps and served until 1945. In September 1945, she married Harold Eugene Herrington in her Aunt Helen Hope's living room in Long Beach, Calif. After Gene left the U.S. Navy in 1947, they returned to Cedar Rapids and opened the first Dairy Queen in Cedar Rapids. The store is now owned and operated by her granddaughter.

In 1974, Dorothy returned to the University of Iowa for a refresher course in nursing. She then returned to work at St. Luke's Hospital until her retirement in 1985.

She was a member of Kenwood Park Presbyterian Church, where she served many years as a deacon. She later belonged to Echo Hill Presbyterian Church. She was active in Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association.

Mrs. Herrington is survived by her four children, Nancy (Paul) Klein, Sally (Stephen) Stendel, Clancy (Jan) Herrington, all of Cedar Rapids, and Molly Herrington of Guangzhou, China. She is also survived by four grandchildren, Jill (Trent) Muckler of Marion, Iowa, Laural (Erik) Miller-Klein of Seattle, Wash., Marc (Emily) Klein of Houston, Texas, and Spencer (EmilyAnn) Walrath of Arlington, Va. In addition, she has five great-grandchildren who fondly named her GG. They are Devin and Caryss Muckler, Alexa and Camden Miller-Klein and Audrey Klein. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews who all called her Aunt Do.

Dorothy was predeceased by her husband; her parents; all seven of her siblings and their spouses; several of her nieces and nephews; and her grandson, Sam Eugene Herrington.

Dorothy donated her body to the University of Iowa Medical School for research. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, 9000 C Ave., Marion, Iowa.

The family would like to thank the staff and residents at Village Ridge where Dorothy made her home for the last three years. It took less than a week for her to call it home.

Memorials may be directed to Dorothy's favorite charities: Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Camp Courageous, American Red Cross, SBMEF of the American Business Women's Association or the charity of the donor's choice. The family requests no flowers.

Please share your support and condolences with Dorothy's family on her celebration wall at www.stewartbaxter.com under obituaries.