Obituary of Dorothy Rudy
Dorothy Rudy, age 87, of Monroe, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in Yorktown, Virginia with her daughter by her side.
Dorothy was born on November 3, 1933 in Toronto, Ontario. She was the oldest of eight children born to Austin and Mable (Harper) Smith. She married Michael Rudy on April 16, 1966 in Lima, Ohio and soon after made Monroe their home for over 40 years.
Dorothy worked as an optician since the late 1950’s starting out in Toronto. Dorothy moved to the States in the 60’s and continued working as an optician in Ohio and then finally in Monroe for various practices. She loved the job since it gave her the opportunity to engage with many new people daily.
Dorothy was a wonderful homemaker and could always be found in the kitchen making meals for the family. She was a proud member of the women’s group of Indian Trails and a long-time active member of St Anne’s Church. Recently, she was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels in Yorktown and looked forward to her weekly route.
Dorothy was a Canadian who was very proud of her Irish heritage. You could often find her listening to Daniel O’Donnell or the Irish Tenors with the volume up as loud as it could go. She loved to read and stayed current on world news. Dorothy was a storyteller at heart and loved to tell stories of her past and present to anyone who would listen, but her greatest joy in life was spending time with her children and grandchildren. Her stories will live on through them. Dorothy lived a full and amazing life living having been able to see the world from the Eastern bloc of Europe to pulling a wagon with her grandkids collecting coconuts and seashells on the beaches of Guam.
Left to cherish Dorothy’s memory are daughter Kathy (Mike) Sander of Virginia; son: Jim (Becky) Rudy of Livonia; eight grandchildren: Eric, Marcus, Katie, Sydney, Dominic, Devan, Chesney, and Lucas; two sisters: Laura Harper of Ontario and Terry MacIntyre of Nova Scotia; and two brothers: David Smith and Brian Smith of Ontario.
Dorothy’s passing was preceded by her parents; husband Michael Rudy; two brothers, Austin and Dennis Smith; a sister, Patricia Hardsand; and her beloved son, Michael Rudy.
Friends may gather from 11:00am until 1:00pm on Wednesday; August 4, 2021 at Merkle Funeral Service, North Monroe, 2442 North Monroe Street, Monroe, MI 48162 (734) 384-5185. A Worship Service in Celebration of Her Life will follow at 1:00pm with Father Henry Rebello of St. Anne Parish Officiating. Procession will follow to St. Joseph Cemetery in Monroe for entombment.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) to Celebrate Dorothy’s love of children.
