DOROTHY DALTON MATHIS RUMMEL – Durham

CLEMENTS FUNERAL SERVICE, INC.     (919) 286-1224     fax (919) 286-1226

OBITUARY NEWS STORY

PUBLISH PAID ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018

 

DOROTHY DALTON MATHIS RUMMEL

 

Durham

Dorothy Dalton Mathis Rummel, known and loved by many as “Dot,” “Pinky,” and “Dorothy,” went to be with Jesus on May 4, 2018, at home, surrounded by her loving husband and family.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m., on Thursday, May 10, at Clements Funeral Home in Durham. The funeral service, officiated by Rev. Dan Tilley, will be held on Friday, May 11, at 11 a.m., at Guess Road Baptist Church in Durham. Interment will follow at Markham Memorial Gardens.

Mrs. Rummel was born Dorothy Dalton Mathis in Edgefield County, S.C., on September 15, 1920, the ninth of twelve children born to John Henry Mathis and Rosa Lee Thurmond Mathis. A 1936 graduate of Edgefield High School at age fifteen, Dorothy went on to business school. At age eighteen, she began a long career in the secretarial field, first working for the National Youth Administration in the early 1940s. She moved to New Orleans, La., and worked for the Gulf Coast Bay Services Unit for Civil Service, before moving to Augusta, Ga., where she was a secretary at the Daniel Field Air Force Base. After WWII ended, she went on to work at the C&WC Railroad. While living at the YWCA in Augusta, Dorothy’s date for a hayride got sick, so Dorothy agreed to go out with a blind date. That turned out to be Robert Leslie Rummel, whom she wed on February 12, 1949. After a Niagara Falls honeymoon, the couple drove their 1936 Buick Limousine to Robert’s parents’ home in Susanville, Calif. Three children later, the Rummel family settled in Durham, where Dorothy worked first for the Duke Hospital Cleft Palate Board, and later for the Duke Hospital Child Guidance Clinic. After her retirement, Dorothy volunteered as a Cancer Support Volunteer for many years.  Dorothy’s greatest gift was her ability to meet and get to know people from all walks of life. She never met a stranger! She was a loyal member of Guess Road Baptist Church and loved teaching Sunday School. Dorothy enjoyed playing Scrabble with her husband, walking, and traveling by motor home to visit friends and relatives. She and Bob visited all fifty states in the United States, as well as into Canada and Mexico. Dorothy kept logs of their travels, and filled too many scrapbooks to count. In her later years, she and Bob regularly “walked the mall” at Northgate, where they were friendly to everyone they met. Robert and Dorothy were frequently called “the lovebirds” by friends and strangers alike.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents and all of her siblings. She is survived by her loving husband of sixty-nine years Robert Leslie Rummel; one son, Bruce Rummel and wife Kay of Susanville, Calif.; two daughters, Robin R. Snyder and husband Charles of Durham, and Rose Rummel-Eury and husband Michael of Concord, N.C.; four grandchildren, Rebecca R. Ayling and husband Nate of Portland, Ore., Joshua Snyder and wife Elizabeth of Durham, Joy E. Snyder of Durham, and Ryan Rummel and wife Brandy of Palmer of Alaska; sister-in-law Katherine Mathis; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Mrs. Rummel’s family wishes to thank Dr. Greenblatt and staff, and the kind, caring staff at Transitions Lifecare, Katherine, Denise, Tanya, Susan, Isabel, and Jessie. They also wish to thank the staff of Duke Regional Hospital, who so expertly cared for Dorothy until she went into home hospice care, and to Dorothy’s home caregivers, Lori, Yani, and the family’s special cousin Carol. Remembrances may be sent to the family at clementsfuneralservice.com. Memorials may be sent to the Durham Rescue Mission at P.O. Box 11858, Durham, N.C., 27703, or online at https://www.durhamrescuemission.org.Clements Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., of Durham are assisting the Rummel family.

 

END OF OBITUARY NEWS STORY

 

BILLING INFORMATION:  Rose M. Rummel-Eury, 118 Edgewood Ave, NE, Concord, NC 28025

 

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