Dorotha Riley Myers

Dorotha Riley Myers, of Carthage, Illinois, a kind and generous woman, passed on October 7, 2010 at 6:00 AM. at the Hancock County Nursing Home in Carthage. Dorotha the daughter of Victor and Inez (Browning) Riley, was born in their farm house near Colusa, IL on September 12, 1917, the oldest of four children. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Raymond Earl Myers, and her brother, Ellsworth. She is survived by her sisters, Doris Henrichs of Monmouth and Cheryl Owings of Carthage, her four sons, David (Anne) of Oswego, IL, William (Frances) of Lincolnshire, IL, John of Chicago, IL, and Jack (Donna) of Arlington Heights, IL., her five grandchildren Michael (Brittan), Nicholas, Kristin (Eric) Riger, Erica and Patrick, her cousin, Jayne Eckhardt, and many nieces and nephews.

She attended Bross School, a one room country school, and Colusa High School, where she was class valedictorian. She received a teachers certification from Western Illinois Teachers College and taught in one-room schools.

On June 7, 1939, she married her high school sweetheart, Raymond Myers. They moved to Mt. Sterling, where Ray worked for Prairie Farms Creamery for twenty-five years. In 1962, Dorotha returned to teaching, starting with kindergarten in Hersman, IL. In 1964, they moved back to Hancock County, settling in Carthage, where Ray sold insurance and Dorotha taught school, first in Ferris, IL and then in Carthage.

She was named Hancock County Teacher of the Year for her year-long Bicentennial program with her fifth-sixth grade class in 1976. She eventually completed her bachelors degree at Western Illinois University toward the end of her teaching career in the early 1980s. She was an elder, Sunday school teacher and womens group leader at the First Christian Church of Carthage.

Dorotha served as president of the PTA and Red Cross in Mt. Sterling, and was active in The Delvers Club, Home Extension, Memorial Hospital Gray Ladies and Business and Professional Women in Carthage. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She and her husband, Raymond, delivered Meals on Wheels for twenty years, well into their 80s.

She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, a woman deeply devoted to her church and community. Dorotha was happiest when she was surrounded by her family. Raymond and she celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary in June.

The family especially want to thank the staffs at the Hancock County Nursing Home and Memorial Hospital for the loving care given to Dorotha.

Services will be held at 10:00 A.M. Monday, October 11, 2010 at the First Christian Church in Carthage with Rev. Ray McLaren officiating. Burial will be in the Myers Cemetery near Colusa, Illinois. Friends may call after 2:00 P.M. Sunday at Banks & Beals Funeral Home in LaHarpe, Illinois where the family will meet with friends from 4:00 until 6:00 P.M. Sunday. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the First Christian Church of Carthage, the Hancock County Nursing Home or Memorial Hospital of Carthage.