Dorothy Roemer's Obituary
Dorothy Lorrain Flaherty-Roemer
Sept 28, 1928 – Mar 27, 2016
Dorothy Roemer passed peacefully on March 27, 2016 at 87 years of age, with her children at
her bedside. Born on September 28, 1928. to parents John Ferrell Flaherty and Gertrude
Maude Miller Flaherty, Dorothy spent her entire life in her hometown of Tacoma, WA. On July
16, 1948 Dorothy married Durland Roemer. During her 33 years of marriage, Dorothy raised her
own 6 children in addition to foster parenting numerous young teens.
As principle of the St. John of the Woods Catholicism Program, Dorothy gave countless hours
of her time including fundraising for much needed CCD classrooms and class materials. She
loved to bake, was an excellent seamstress, and greatly enjoyed toiling in her garden. For a
period, she supplemented the household income through her seamstress skills and in time made
the wedding dresses for two of her daughters.
During WWII, Dorothy dropped out of school in order to earn money, but as her children
became older she was committed to getting her GED, after which she earned her Associate's
degree and then continued on until receiving her Bachelor's degree in Social Welfare from
Pacific Lutheran University. Her children watched her receive her degree on August 15, 1975,
at the age of 46.
After retiring from more than 20 years in the Social Services department at St. Joseph
Hospital, Dorothy pursued her horticultural interests and received training in the local Master
Gardeners group as well as her membership in The Fuchsia Club. In partnership with her oldest
daughter, Marilyn, she eventually operated her own plant maintenance service, Evergreen Plant
Design. An avid hiker, Dorothy spent countless days hiking around Mt. Rainier as a member of
the Tacoma Mountaineers, as well as in areas where she traveled, which included Alaska, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Rome. Visiting the Vatican was one of her greatest joys.
She is survived by her 6 children: Rodney (Cheryl), Stephan (Jocelyn), Marilyn (John) Davidson,
Rose (Paul) Hansen, Douglas and Gail (Jeff) Smolar. She will be missed by her 11 grandchildren: Craig, Jamie, Phillip, Timothy, Anna, Jay, Brant, Adin, Katie, Zachary and Hunter, as well as her 2 great grandchildren: Riley and Andrew. Dorothy is preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, Jack and Jim…
The family is very thankful for the warm and loving care Dorothy received during the past 4 years at Puyallup Care Center and then in conjunction with the Franciscan Hospice group.
Dorothy will remain forever in the hearts of her family and dear friends.
Graveside service will be held on April 16, 2016, at 1pm, Mountain View Memorial Park.
Reception to follow in the Oak Room, Celebration of Life Center.
What’s your fondest memory of Dorothy?
What’s a lesson you learned from Dorothy?
Share a story where Dorothy's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Dorothy you’ll never forget.
How did Dorothy make you smile?
