Dorothy Enderich (2014)

ENDERICH, Dorothy May (Gehre) 89, was born September 7, 1925, in  Comstock, Nebraska, and passed away  October 17, 2014, in Mesa, Arizona.  She lived at 710 N. 58th Street.

 Dorothy moved to San Dimas, California with her parents in 1932 from Nebraska.  After the 1933 earthquake in Long Beach, Dorothy’s father headed back to Nebraska.  They moved back to California in 1940 where she graduated from Bonita High School in San Dimas-LaVerne CA.

After working in a photography studio for a few years, she went to work at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA, as a Rosie the Riveter.  She worked on the fuselage of the C47's and later transferred to another job of shooting ice box rivets, putting brackets on spars that went inside the airplane wings.  She was told she was the 1st Lady to do this job and received a good raise.

She met Bill Enderich through her boss while at Douglas Aircraft and married him in April, 1947.  They lived in South Gate, Clifornia, for 40 years, raising two children and helped to raise her grandson.

The City of South Gate purchased their property for a large shopping center, so they moved to Mesa, Arizona, in 1987 to be closer to Bill’s sister, husband and stepmother.  They moved into a senior community known as Dreamland Villa where both Dorothy and Bill became very active in the community.

After Bill passed away in 1993, Dorothy continued to travel and be very active in the community.  She played with the Haw-Hee Band and volunteered many years at Help Services in Dreamland Villa, a non- profit organization.

Dorothy loved to visit and talk with anyone along her journey in life.  Even in her later years walking around her neighborhood, she would stop and sit on her 4 wheel walker and visit with people she didn’t even know.

About a year ago Dorothy moved to Citadel Assisted Living in Mesa, Arizona.  She was once again active, exercising on a daily basis, playing cards, and games.

Dorothy loved her family and friends as they did her; she will be missed but never forgotten.