Dorothy “Dot” McEndree was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on October 26, 1931. She was born to a young mother who married her father’s farmhand. She remembered the first time electricity was installed in their home and when the local store manager installed the lightbulb for them.
Dorothy’s unwavering faith in the Grace of God, provided by the blood of Jesus Christ, was the guiding light in her life. Her strong devotion to God began at the age of thirteen when she was baptized as a Seventh Day Adventist alongside her mother and siblings.
Dorothy taught elementary school in a one room school in Northern Wisconsin before going off to college at Andrews University in Michigan, where she sometimes walked through three feet of snow to visit the outhouse. She married Richard “Dick” Strom in August of 1953 during college, where she studied education.
After Michigan, Dorothy and Richard had five children: two born in Loma Linda, California, one born in Detroit, Michigan, one born in Clovis, New Mexico, and one born in Louisville, Kentucky. After 47 years of marriage, Richard passed away in December 2000 in Jackson, AL. He had dedicated his life to caring for others as a family physician and serving his country in the Air Force.
The next year, Dorothy moved to Madison, Tennessee where she had raised her children. Afterwards, she spent a handful of years in Salisbury, Maryland and La Vergne, Tennessee.
Dorothy is survived by her daughter, Debi; her four sons, Bob (daughter-in-law, Mayda), Rick, Randy (daughter-in-law, Neelam) and Mike (daughter-in-law, Jessica); her grandchildren, Jeffrey Botelho, Melissa, Michelle, Jonathan, David and Katie; and her brothers, Robert Duane McEndree and Richard McEndree.
Reading Dorothy’s bible, she underlined many verses filled with trust and hope: “O God thou hast taught me from my youth and hither have I declared thy wondrous works”. “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth” Psalm 71. “As for me I will call upon the Lord and He will save me” Psalm 55. “God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death” Psalm 48.
The family plans to bury Dorothy’s ashes alongside her husband in Whitehouse, Tennessee where an interment ceremony will be held in the spring.
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered”. “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance, Selah” Psalm 32.
