Dorothea Mae Gillespie

Dorothea Mae Gillespie died on April 4, 2010, at the age of 94.

She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of Claude and Nellie Hayes. She was a graduate of Westport High School. She and her husband William Ernest Gillespie raised their two daughters in Merriam, Kansas. She was a long time employee of Guys Potato Chip Co. She and Ernie retired to Mack's Development on Truman Lake in Warsaw. They enjoyed gardening, fishing, and the wildlife. Their five grandsons spent many happy summer days there. Dorothea loved flowers and had her yard and home full of them. Also, she attracted many song birds and humming birds to her porches. She was widowed over twenty years ago and continued to live in Warsaw until late 2008 when she moved to assisted living in Pennsylvania near her daughter.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Jacqueline and Joseph Ritsch of Buffalo, Missouri, and daughter Nellice Gillespie Woltemade of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania; one sister and brother-in-law Betty Sue and Frank Wilkinson of Olathe, Kansas; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Robert and Pat Hayes of Independence and Larry and Ellen Hayes of Golden, Missouri; four grandsons, David and Brian Burns and Peter and Christopher Woltemade (a fifth, William Burns is deceased.); 4 great-grandchildren, a great-great granddaughter, 3 step-grandsons, and 5 step-great-grandchildren.

The family suggests memorial contributions to:

Missouri Botanical Garden
The Shaw Fund
4344 Shaw Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63110

or

Greater Ozarks Audubon Society
P.O. Box 3231
Springfield, Missouri 65808-3231

Visitation and Funeral Service

Visitation will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m., Friday, April 9, 2010, at the Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee. Funeral will be at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 10, 2010, at the chapel. The Eulogy will be conducted by her brother Robert Hayes and his son Robert Hayes, Jr. Burial at Johnson County Memorial Gardens, Overland Park, Kansas.