Birth date: Oct 5, 1939 Death date: Jun 26, 2017
Dorothy Sue (McCormick) Trenkamp, age 77 of Gainesville, passed away Monday, June 26, 2017 at her home. Dorothy was born October 5, 1939 in Stewartsville, Kentucky. Dorothy was married to her husband, Ferdinand Joseph Trenkamp, J Read Obituary
This beautiful sweet lady left us on my birthday. She was my friend who gave me a great start in my marriage. .........Dottie made my wedding dress......I always enjoyed being with her....She was a good christian lady.......she loved her family and I loved her.
Dorothy blessed me and my children in so many ways that I could write a hundred pages and not be finished. This is the briefest summary I could come up with;
As I try to think about one special memory of Dorothy, I realize I have more memories with and of her (not to mention more time spent in her and Ferd's home) than with both the grandmothers I had combined, PLUS every aunt, great-aunt, uncle, and great-uncle I knew (most passed away by the time I was in my early 20's, and I never met amy of my cousins). Then, you can add into that all the time I've spent with any girlfriend I've had in Florida since moving here in 1993, and I still have more memories with Dorothy. Only my three daughters saw me more, and "Nanny" grandmothered/aunted, friended/and cheer lead all of them, too. Nanny, Ferd and Dina are, on every level, our Florida family.
It seemed every time I dropped by their house Nanny would say "I was just thinking about you this morning." She expected little from those around her, but gave immeasurably of her love, time and resources.
Dorothy's greatest joy came from having little people around who loved on her, and the biggest compliment she could be given was to be entrusted with the care of another's child. She loved to pamper her "babies," no matter who else they belonged to. She pampered me, too, especially through some rocky years, saying "Everybody needs some pampering sometimes." After Monica started school, whenever Nanny knew I was taking her over to stay with her and "Uncle Ferdie" on a teacher-work-day, or when I took evening classes at SFC, or worked a second job on weekends, Nanny would send Ferd to the store to fetch some chocolate ice cream, black olives, dill pickles, salt and vinegar chips--some combination of them, not to forget BACON (she knew everything Monica liked as well as I did), because children whose mothers had to leave them to go to work needed pampering, too.
Dorothy was always there for us, offering a hug, kiss, "I love you," and always reaffirming we were good people. She knew how to make people in her life feel like VIPs. Nanny's moral support and love were indispensable to all of us.
A self-tought seamstress, Nanny meticulously altered gently used wedding dresses for Jessica and Amber, made all the dresses for Jessica's bride's maids, and helped in any other way she could, and Uncle Ferd walked Jessica down the aisle to give her away, because her Dad passed away when she was 16 years old. Nanny was a champion yard sale barterer, and looked to find whatever we needed (and couldn't afford to buy new). She and Ferd helped us move twice, and she put Ferd to work on any household or car repairs we needed. She put him to work to build Monica a four foot tall Barbie doll house, then Nanny painted it, put flooring in, valances on the windows, and furnished it completely, including wall art and a Christmas tree. Monica believed that Ferd was a miracle worker and could fix anything; before she talked clearly she was already saying "is OK, Mommy; Unca Foodie can fick it." If Humpty Dumpty fell from the wall and broke into a thousand pieces, that would have been Monica's response.
Sometimes Dorothy was a big sister to me, other times a mother figure, but always a loyal, loving, and supportive friend; the rare kind that God sends to lift the spirits and enrich the lives of needy people, such as we were. We shared hours on end,of simple conversation sitting at their table, her with her mug of tea with milk in it, and me with my cup of coffee. No one else in our world ever had that much love and thought to give us, and Nanny and Ferd did it that for others, too.
There are no words to describe my sorrow, so I can't begin to imagine the loss her family, far and wide are feeling. I'll always love and be grateful for the God-send provided us, and I hold her other loved ones in my thoughts and prayers.
Love Debra and the girls
We are very sorry to hear of the death of Dorothy.
We pray God will console all of you with His great love.
Theresa & Rod McGarry
When I was searching for a sitter for our 2 young babies, God sent me Dorothy and Ferdie. They were a huge blessing in our lives and they became family to us. I was shocked at Nannys passing but it comforts me to know she is in heaven with her family that has passed before her. We love you Nanny and will never forget the tremendous impact you have had in our lives ❤️😢
As I try to think about one special memory of Dorothy, I realize I have more memories with and of her (not to mention more time spent in her and Ferd's home) than with both the grandmothers I had put together, PLUS every aunt, great-aunt, uncle, and great-uncle I knew (most passed away by the time I was in my early 20's, and I never met the a single cousin I had). Then, you can add into that all the time I've spent with any girlfriend I've had in Florida since moving here in 1993. Only my three daughters saw me more, and "Nanny" grandmothered/aunted/friended/and cheerleaded all of them, too. Nanny, Ferd and Dina are, on every level, our Florida. She expected little from those around her, but gave immeasurably. Her greatest joys came from having little people around who loved on her, and greatest compliment was being entrusted with the care of another's child. She loved to pamper her "babies," no matter who else they belonged to. She pampered me, too, especially through some rocky years, saying "Everybody needs some pampering sometimes." When she knew Monica was coming over for a teacher-work-day, or when I had evening class at SFC, or worked the weekend at Shands, Nanny would send Ferd to the store to fetch some chocolate ice cream, black olives, dill pickles, salt and vinegar chips--a combination of them, not to forget BACON (She knew everything Monica liked as well as I did), and Monica needed pampering, too. She was ALWAYS there for us, offering a hug, kiss, and "I love you," and always reaffirming we were good people; VIPs in her eyes. Nanny was indispensable to us. No one else in our world had that much love and thought to give us, and she did it for many others, too.
