Obituary of Dorothy Alice Hand

Dorothy A. Hand, 90, of Sister Lakes, passed away on Saturday, May 25, 2013 at Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph, Michigan. She was born on February 26, 1923 in Benton Harbor, Michigan to the late Russell and Ione (Ramer) Geisler. Dorothy graduated from Benton Harbor High School and Business College. She was the first runner-up in the Miss Benton Harbor Pageant in 1941. On August 8, 1942 Dorothy married Keith A. Hand at a ceremony in Chelsea, Michigan. They spent 65 years together before he passed away in 2007. She followed him to San Francisco, California during World War II. Dorothy worked in the shipyards wiring and welding ships while Keith was oversees fighting in the Pacific. She was one of the original "Rosie the Riveters" and was extremely proud in supporting the war effort. Upon returning to the area after the war, they lived in Benton Harbor, Coloma, Baroda and Sister Lakes. Dorothy was a very hard working, determined women. Dorothy ran the family farm for 10 years while Keith worked at Whirlpool. She enjoyed gardening, genealogy, and Dorothy and Keith were avid numismatists. As she aged, her eyesight diminished but she found ways to compensate. She would never give up and would amaze everyone how much she could accomplish. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Keith Hand, a daughter Sharon Jackson and a sister Jeanne Pavlick. Dorothy is survived by her little dog Buddy who gave her such comfort and love the last years of her life, a son Keith "Skip" Hand and his wife Valerie, a son-in-law Arnie Jackson, her grandchildren Michael Kettelhut and Deborah Piggott, great-grandchildren Brent Kettelhut, Christi (Kettelhut) Kimball and Eric Piggott, nieces and nephews; Jack Pavlick, Linda Brunson, Patty Door, Nancy Melchar and Tom Hand. A service to celebrate Dorothy's life will be held on Friday, May 31, 2013 at 11:30a.m. at North Shore Memory Gardens 5027 M-63 in Coloma. A time of visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Memorial contributions may be made in Dorothy's memory to a charity of one's choice.