Dorothy Richards Geib died peacefully at the Olivia
White Hospice Home on Memorial Day, May 25, 2015. She
was 102, closing in on 103 when she passed. During her
lifetime, she witnessed remarkable changes: two world wars,
the great depression, passenger jets, and the advent of the
internet. Dorothy had lived a full life and was ready to depart
this world.
Dorothy Yarnell Richards was born a coal miner's
daughter in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania on July 15, 1912.
She was the second child of Robert and Jennie Richards
and younger sibling to Jennie Fortner. Dorothy grew up in
Mahanoy City, graduating high school in 1930. After attending
Bucknell College, she moved to Philadelphia in 1932 and
began working for the Curtis Publishing Company. While
living in Philadelphia she met her future husband of 57 years,
Wayne Allen Geib during his sophomore year at Jefferson
Medical School. They married in 1938 and after the start of
WWII the couple moved to Fort Devens in Groton, Massachusetts whereWayne served in the
US Army as a medical officer. The ensuing war years saw several moves from the Fitzsimons
Army Medical Center in Denver, Colorado to Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, to
Panama City, Panama, and then back to Fitzsimons.
At war's end, Dorothy andWayne moved to Rapid City, South Dakota in 1947 to begin
their civilian life. Two boys were born in the mid 1950s, Timothy then Philip, and Dorothy's
life became much busier. Many decades later she recalled the family years in Rapid as the
happiest time of her life. Dorothy was inducted into the P.E.O., an international philanthropic
women's organization in 1958, starting a deep involvement with the sisterhood that lasted
until her death.
The big flood of 1972 ended life in Rapid City, but fortunately the family survived
unlike the more than 200 people who perished including dear family friends. Dorothy and
family next moved to Roanoke, Virginia, whereWayne worked at the local VA Hospital for
the next five years. After retirement in 1977, Dorothy andWayne moved to Hilton Head,
South Carolina, where they lived until moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1986. Her
husband passed away in 1995 and then in 1999 she moved to Flagstaff where she thrived for
another 15 years until just two weeks before her death.
Dorothy's life was punctuated by numerous moves around the country and the world.
She also embraced travel adventures. In 1962 she traveled to the USSR for a medical
convention during the height of the cold war. At the age of 90 she went on a 2-week long trip
to Italy accompanied by her two sons. In 2008 Dorothy celebrated 50 years of PEO sisterhood
and was formally honored at an event in Phoenix. To mark her centennial, her sons hosted a
joyous luncheon celebration with family Flagstaff friends at The Cottage Place restaurant.
Dorothy retained a sharp mind up to the end and was a formidable bridge player in her
day. She was an avid reader and lifelong learner who took college courses as an adult on
geology, art, Christianity and other topics. For more than a decade she and her family attended
alumni classes at Dartmouth College whereWayne graduated in 1935, an experience she
always enjoyed since her busy boys were involved in their own classes and field trips. She
loved going to the symphony and visiting art museums and galleries. Dorothy was a devout
Christian with a keen interest in biblical history and the life of Jesus.
Dorothy is survived by her sons, Timothy Allen of Juneau, Alaska and Philip Robert
of Lincoln, Nebraska, her daughter-in-law, Carrie Heitman, also of Lincoln, and four
grandchildren: Nicholas Ainsa Geib, Annie Yarnell Geib, Sienna Sophia Heitman Geib, and
Millicent Madolyn Heitman Geib. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and
sister Jennie Fortner.
A memorial celebration will be held at Norvel Owens Mortuary in Flagstaff on
Sunday June 14th, 2015 at 3 PM. In lieu of flowers donations to the PEO Foundation will be
accepted to help deserving women pursue their educational goals; checks made out to the
PEO Foundation can be mailed to 7235 N. HadriansWalk, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 or a direct
contribution can be made at http://www.peointernational.org/contributions-peo-foundation.
Dorothy will be interred at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.