Dorothy Butler Barkwill, 89

Dorothy Butler Barkwill, 89, of Woodstock, went to be with her Lord on Dec. 7, 2022.

Born on May 11, 1933, in Scranton, Pa., she was the daughter of Clarence and Margaret (Simpson) Butler. 

Dorothy graduated from Dunmore High School in Dunmore, Pa., and Asbury College in Wilmore, Ky.

Following college, she worked at the Otterbein Children’s Home in Lebanon, Ohio, and the Woodstock Children’s Home, followed by employment at the Methodist Publishing House in Chicago as private secretary to the editor of TOGETHER (a Methodist family magazine in the 1950s and ’60’).

Dorothy was a member of the Woodstock Free Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday school for over 20 years. Following marriage, she was the church secretary as well as the conference treasurer and secretary for nine years. During recent years she assisted in a weekly Bible study at the Valley High Nursing Home for over 10 years.

Preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, William Harold Barkwill; her sister ,Janet Stansbury; and her parents.

Dorothy is survived by her three daughters, Debbie (Fred) Kiel of Dunedin, Fla, Diane (Michael) Church of Mecosta, Mich., and Laura Barkwill of Lake Geneva, Wis; her eight grandchildren, Natalie, Rachel, Michelle, Nathan, Marian, Robert, Allison, and Dorothy; three great-grandchildren and one on the way; and her sister, Marian Baer of Hendersonville, N.C.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Dorothy’s name to Grace & Hope Mission, 4 S. Gay St., Baltimore, MD 21202. This is a ministry that has been very near and dear to Dorothy’s heart for many years, or be sent to continue her sponsorship of Emily Ocon, a 12-year-old child in the Philippines. Please send contributions to the Woodstock Free Methodist Church, 934 N. Seminary Ave., which will forward gifts to I.C.C.M. 

For more information, call Schneider, Leucht, Merwin & Cooney Funeral Home at 815-338-1710, or visit the website at slmcfh.com.