Visitation:
9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, July 24, 2021 at the
First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln
Service:
10 a.m. Saturday at the church
Funeral home:
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader, Lincoln
Obituary
Dorothy "Dort" Gaffney 1919 – 2020
Dorothy "Dort" Gaffney, 101, of Lincoln passed away
at St. Clara's Rehab and Senior Care in Lincoln, IL
on December 21, 2020.
Dort was born April 16, 1919 in Hickory Point, Macon
County, IL, the daughter of Benjamin F. Harrison and
Wilda (Rowe) Harrison. She married Emory Clark
Gaffney on April 15, 1944 in Fort Myers, FL. They
were married for 72 years. He preceded her in death
on July 5, 2016.
She graduated from Lincoln High School and attended
Lincoln College. She and Emory opened an accounting
firm in downtown Lincoln at the Griesheim Building.
Dort served as Office Manager for their business.
Mrs. Gaffney was a member of the First Presbyterian
Church of Lincoln, where she taught Sunday School
classes. She was also a member of the Lincoln
Women's Club and served as a volunteer at Abraham
Lincoln Memorial Hospital. Dort had the most
beautiful smile that she shared with everyone,
making them feel special and welcome. She was known
as the "hostess with the mostest!" Dort made her
extended family and friends a huge part of her life
by making holidays and birthdays very special.
Family members felt honored when gifted with a
sweater, mittens or scarf that were lovingly
stitched by her. And, of course, there was the
famous fudge that was always expected at family
get-togethers. It was a team effort between Dort and
Emory, with Dort cooking and Emory stirring until
"just the right moment" when it was done and must be
poured out of the pan. Dort and Emory shared a love
for travel. They visited all 50 states, including
driving the Alaskan Highway, where they even stopped
along the way to post a "Lincoln 3,076 miles"
directional sign. They also made trips abroad to
Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, China
(walked the Great Wall), Africa, Ireland, Scotland
and England. |
Surviving Dort are her large extended
family that includes several nieces and nephews,
nieces-in-law and nephews-in-law: Geoff (Pam)
Harrison; Kathy (Bill) Daunais; Beth (Dave) Eckert;
and niece-in-law, Bobbi Abbott; Maureen (Bernard
"Hop") Looney; Tim Harrison; Terry (Cari) Harrison;
Kathleen (Peter) Kollinger, Jack "Jay" (Debra)
Harrison, Jan Saylor, Joe (Teresa) Harrison, Pam
(Michael McArdle) Bubeck, Chris Harrison and Sean
(Jennifer) Harrison, Gerald (Susan) Dehner, Valerie
(Gary Crawford) Dehner, as well as many great-nieces
and great-nephews. Dort was preceded in death by her
parents; one sister, Katherine Abbott; three
brothers: Ben Harrison, Jack Harrison, and Phil
Harrison, brother-in-law, Jim Abbott, and
sisters-in-law: Edith Clare Dehner, Eleanor
Harrison, Dorothy (Buckstegge) Harrison, and Ruth
Harrison, nephews, J. Michael Abbott and Andrew
Auld; nieces-inlaw, Betty (Dehner) Tiffany and Nancy
(Dehner) Mathews and nephew-in-law, Tom Tiffany.
A celebration of Dort’s life will be held at 10:00am
on Saturday, July 24, 2021 at the First Presbyterian
Church in Lincoln, IL. Visitation will take place
prior to the service from 9:30am-10:00am also at the
church. Burial will follow the services at New Union
Cemetery in Lincoln, IL.
Memorial donations may be made in Dort’s name to the
First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln.
Services have been entrusted to
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home, Lincoln.
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"Dort" Gaffney
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