We are the Lord's possessions, whether we live or die; life is just changed, not ended. Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia! On Saturday, June 13, a radiantly perfect day of blue skies, abounding sunshine, and cool temperatures, Dottie Weaver went out to enjoy the glorious beauty of God's creation in her lovely and peaceful garden. While lovingly tending her plants, she tripped and fell, fracturing her femur. She successfully underwent the surgical repair on Sunday morning, June 14, but in the late afternoon passed into the arms of her Lord to eternal glory and her heavenly home, at Lancaster General Hospital – Penn Medicine.
Dorothy Louise Weaver, beloved wife, precious and loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend was born on May 7, 1936, in Columbia, the daughter of Samuel Paul Downs and Dorothy Heilig Downs. She attended the old Cherry Street and Poplar St. elementary schools, where she was May Princess, and graduated with honors from Columbia High School, where she was her class salutatorian. She attended York College of Pennsylvania and Elizabethtown College, receiving her certification as a licensed medical assistant, interning and working at St. Joseph Hospital Lancaster.
Dottie met Ted Weaver (Chester E. Weaver, Jr.) at a dance at St. John's Lutheran Church, romance bloomed, and the couple were married November 3, 1956, a marriage of 64 wonderful years! Dottie and Ted went to housekeeping in Tucson, Arizona, where Ted proudly served his country in the United States Air Force, while Dottie worked as a medical technician at the Southern Pacific Railroad Hospital. Their first daughter was born in Tucson in 1958, before Dottie and Ted returned to Columbia where their second daughter was born. They resided in Columbia for almost 40 years, the community they both loved, where they raised their children. In 1997, they moved to Mountville, where they were surrounded again by many loving and caring neighbors.
Dottie worked for several years at Wyeth Laboratories, Marietta, and then went on to work for Armstrong World Industries, Inc., now Armstrong Flooring, Lancaster, for 24 years, from where she retired in 1995. Dottie was a devoted life-long member of the Lutheran Church serving on the Altar Guild and Church Councils for many dedicated years at both First English Lutheran Church, and then at St. John's Lutheran Church, when the congregations merged.
Dottie was a woman of incredible faith and wisdom, who believed her Lord was always with her and always in control with a plan for our good. She absolutely loved caring for her gorgeous garden and watching the cardinals, robins and many other birds and wildlife visit, nest, and feed outside her sunroom. She was a devoted follower of the Hanover bald eagles on webcam, and watched the birth of the babies and nurturing of the parents with love. Dottie avidly and enthusiastically followed current affairs and politics, and was a proud supporter of our President Donald Trump. She enjoyed her iPad and Facebook, and read voraciously on political topics, as well as faith and history. Dottie produced extraordinarily beautiful cross-stitch artwork for her family and home, knitting and crocheting, and was a wonderful cook and homemaker. In her younger years, Dottie enjoyed traveling with her family to Williamsburg, VA, New England, and through the South. During her working years, she and Ted traveled to Germany, Austria, France, Spain, and Morocco. The family vacationed in Stone Harbor, NJ, and later, Hilton Head, SC. But there was no place like home, and the gatherings of family at her warm and inviting home were the most special and precious of times to her.
She adored her husband and family who were the center of her world, and is survived by those she loved so preciously and dearly: her beloved husband, Ted Weaver; her daughter and best friend, Cindy Ann Weaver; her dear and cherished granddaughter, Tiffany Howard-Kreider, D.PT, wife of Randall Kreider, and their son, the light of her life, great-grandson, Aidan J. Kreider. Additionally, Dottie is survived by her dear nieces and nephews, Marilyn (Downs) Eggers (wife of Beach Eggers) Ivanhoe, VA; Larry Downs (husband of Angel Downs), Akron, PA; Nancy (Downs) Leed (wife of David Leed), Drumore; and Thomas Downs. She is survived, too, by her husband's family: Margaret ("Peg") (Weaver) Hollingsworth (Tom) and Mary (Weaver) Schreiber (Ted) and their families of Columbia, as well as Fay Rohrer, Yutan, Nebraska; Debra (Weaver) Renneberg, Ephrata; and Mark Weaver (Deb), Potter County. Dottie was blessed with the friendship and kindnesses of her many neighbors and friends, who she looked forward to seeing. Everyone who met Dottie was touched by her gentle sweetness, caring, and kindness. Passing into the arms of Christ, and preceding her on the path to glory were her parents; her dear sister, Anna Barbara Downs; beloved brother, Thomas Samuel Downs; and her precious daughter, Terri Lee Weaver-Hanson.
Services for Dottie will be held on Friday, June 19, 2020, with visitation from 10 – 11 a.m., and services at 11 a.m., from St. John's Lutheran Church, Sixth and Locust Streets, Columbia, with the Rev. Rick Whitesell officiating. Interment will be in Fairview Cemetery, Wrightsville. Relatives and friends are invited to the visitation, services, and cemetery, practicing social distancing. Please bring a face mask during this extraordinary time. Arrangements by the Clyde W. Kraft Funeral Home, Inc. Columbia/Landisville
www.clydekraft.com
