Obituary of Dorothy Mae Croucher

DOROTHY MAE CROUCHER (Kowaleski) Saginaw, MI Born 5-6-1925 Deceased 5/26/2020 Dorothy or Busha, as she was called by her grandchildren, age 95, was called home to be with her Heavenly Father after a short illness. With her family and caregivers at her side, she passed away peacefully at home on May 26, 2020. Her husband of 70 years, Oscar "Jerry", predeceased her in 2017 as well as their oldest daughter, Linda Lou in 2004. Surviving is one daughter, Marilyn Schafer of Saginaw. Five grandchildren: Dr. Vaughn Wildfong of Massachusetts, Abraham and Adam Schafer, Saginaw and Hudsonville, MI, Heather Croucher (Mike McClintock) of Fenton MI, and Jason Croucher (Miranda) of Burt. Five great grandchildren: Tanner and Laurel Wildfong of Massachusetts, Maddox Schafer, Vernon and Madison Croucher. Dorothy was the fifth of six children born in Pinconning, MI to Walter Kowaleski, town barber, violinist, and clock repairer and to Catherine (Tatro) Kowaleski. Her siblings were the newspaper delivery service for the entire town and they each kept the route until the next oldest one could take over. Between the paper route and her ice cream scooping job at Purtells she had saved $387 by graduation from "Pinny High". She took her saving to the big city of Detroit to find her fortune. This original "Rosie the Riveter" made washers for war-time airplanes in a Detroit factory. While there, she saw a notice asking for volunteers to apply for the federally funded Nurse Cadet Program, promising paid tuition for RN training in exchange for nursing service until the end of the war. Her last semester of nursing focused on caring for veterans at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Marion, Indiana. She was assigned to one of many buildings that specialized in caring for psychiatric patients. One of her duties was to assist in the recovery of patients who had shock therapy for depression. That is where she met Jerry, a clerk, who was to be her husband for 70 years! She was frequently asked which one of them was the patient when she would tell the story of their meeting. She followed her husband to Saginaw's VA Hospital following her graduation from the Grace School of Nursing in Detroit. She worked part-time while raising her family and was always excited about her career options: clinical instructor, OB nurse, factory nurse at Steering Gear, office nurse and church camp nurse. Dorothy was eventually employed by all three hospitals, St. Luke's, St. Mary's and Saginaw General, during her nursing career. During a cruise she was even offered a job as an RN on the cruise line at the age of 72 (she didn't take it!) however, she was ready for a trip whenever suggested. Besides her traveling, she had enjoyed gardening, canning, daily mall-walking, and swimming at the Sherwood Pool until she was in her late 80s. Dorothy was a 50 year member of First Baptist Church, Saginaw, and a current member of Michigan Avenue Baptist Church. Thanks to Pastor Carol McCleary for the many home visits, communion, family support and continued prayers. The family would like to acknowledge Dr. Lioudmila Kinachtchouk's very personal relationship and care for 20 plus years for their mother. A heart felt thanks to Cheryl Moncada for her 16 years of loving, joyful care for both Jerry and Dorothy. A thank you also goes to Cheryl's staff for the care and sharing of uplifting stories from their interactions with her. Thanks also, to Residential Hospice for their care and support. Education had always been important to Dorothy, and since her brother was a physician educated at Wayne State University, she chose to donate her body to Wayne State's College of Medicine. Her cremated remains will be returned to the family at some undetermined time in the future for a memorial service at Michigan Ave Baptist. Following that, her interment will be at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, MI where she will join her husband and the inscription will read "together forever."