Dorothy A. Waters

Dorothy Ann Waters passed away in her home surrounded by family on May 7, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 30, 1927 to Gustave and Ann Kepler. Her brother Edward was born 14 months later. Her father owned Commercial Tool Works on Division Street. Dorothy and her brother would both work in the shop while growing up. She was the first girl at Carl Schurz High School to take shop class.

Dorothy started working for Illinois Bell Telephone in 1949, starting as a switchboard operator and retiring in management. She worked for the company for 30 years with an amazing record of perfect attendance. In 1949, Dorothy married Edward Kochan. A year later their daughter April was born. A second daughter, Lizabeth, arrived in 1956. Dorothy always loved to travel and in 1962 took a two months long trip sailing to Europe on the SS France with her mother “Nana” and two young daughters. In Germany they bought a Mercedes sedan at the factory, which Dorothy drove all over Europe. Dorothy kept her love of travel and adventure even after her divorce from Edward in 1968. When she was 50, she decided to take up skiing. She took her daughters for a week crash course at the newly opened Big Sky ski resort in Montana where they all learned to ski. She never got off the bunny hills but still enjoyed the sport for many years.

It was in the mid 70’s that Dorothy met the “love of her life”, Charlie Waters. Charlie’s insurance company, Prestige Casualty, was one of Dorothy’s clients with the phone company. Charlie had recently lost his wife to cancer, and they began dating. Charlie had no children but quickly became family to April, her children and Liz. Charlie and Dorothy retired and began to enjoy their life together. They traveled to Egypt, Greece, Europe, and all over the U.S., eventually renting a second home in La Jolla, California. It was a wonderful time in Dorothy’s life that ended too quickly when Charlie died of a heart attack in 1985. Not long after her husband passed away, Dorothy resumed traveling. She went all over the world, visiting six of the seven continents. Frequently, she would take a daughter or grandchild with on some exciting trip. She also made several trips to Disney with her grandkids over the years. She loved the Opera and followed her favorite ones all over the world.

In 1990 Dorothy decided to leave her rental in California and build a permanent second home. She fell in love with the culture and the grand vistas of Santa Fe, New Mexico. She built her dream house there and filled it with art and beautiful things from her travels. She was the ultimate shopper and decorator! She made friends with her new neighbors, with local artists, and people from the Santa Fe Opera. She managed to keep up her lifestyle well into her 80’s and was still driving to Santa Fe from Chicago and traveling internationally to see her favorite operas. In 2014, at age 86, Dorothy sold her home of 48 years in the Chicago area and moved to Dallas, Texas. In Dallas, she was 10 minutes away from her daughter Liz and son-in-law John Miller. Dorothy quickly found her way around Dallas (never once using a GPS). She loved the Dallas neighborhoods and Live Oak trees, the great restaurants and the mild winters. After a fall in February 2022 that broke her right leg, Dorothy moved into a nearby assisted living facility. Although she greatly missed the independence of driving, Dorothy made new friends there and took frequent outings with nearby family.

Funeral service Thursday, May 18, 11 AM at Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd, Wilmette, IL. Interment private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation, www.t2t.org, or a charity of your choice.