Dorothy Joy (Grow) Barnhart, 83, died Thursday, July 7, 2011 at St. Joseph Hospital after a lengthy illness, with family at her side. Her funeral service is at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12 at the United Methodist Church, with Rev. Dan Freed officiating, and interment will be at the Medora Cemetery in the afternoon. Visitation with family is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, July 11, at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, and continues one hour prior to services at the church.
Dorothy was born September 5, 1927 to Earl and Elsie (Cravath) Grow of Enid, Mont. She spent her childhood on the ranch where the Grow family raised sheep, cattle, and horses. One of Dorothy’s chores was to tend the sheep. She enjoyed the lambs because they were so cute, but disliked the sheep “because they were too stupid.”
After graduation from Richey High School, Dorothy attended college in Missoula, Mont., earning a secretarial degree. During her college years she made many life-long friends, who came to know her as “Mickey”—a sporty nickname Dorothy chose for herself—just for fun. By this time, Earl and Elsie Grow had established part-time residence in Medora, and Dorothy found a position there with the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, where she caught the eye of another Park employee, Jerry Barnhart. On October 28, 1948, Dorothy and Jerry married. The first few years of their marriage, they lived in a tiny house in the North Unit of TR National Park. Being so isolated, they spent many winter evenings playing Cribbage. Dorothy remembered that by the time they moved from the North Unit, she owed Jerry “many thousands of dollars” in Cribbage points.
In 1952, the couple moved to Dickinson where Jerry eventually joined the police force, later becoming chief of police. By this time, Dorothy and Jerry had started a family. She sometimes told that she had always wanted to have four children and Jerry had always wanted two, so they “compromised”—and had six. Dorothy was a working mother, initially as a bookkeeper for Sears, then at Buttrey’s Women’s Clothing Store, and finally as a medical transcriptionist at Rodgers and Gumper Clinic, later Great Plains Clinic. Even though she worked full-time, she always made time for her children, attending school programs and sporting events, and planning and enjoying summer camping trips. When she became a grandmother, she never missed a “grandparent day” at the local schools.
Dorothy enjoyed several hobbies and activities. For many years she bowled in both women’s and couples’ leagues. She was an avid reader, enjoyed solving crossword puzzles, and became a fan of major-league baseball, cheering for the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins. She also became quite a skilled knitter. Many newborns went home from St. Joseph Hospital wearing one of Dorothy’s knitted caps. Later in life, some of Dorothy’s favorite times were those spent with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who loved to help her bake the world’s best chocolate chip cookies. She looked forward to occasional “Girls’ Night” at a casino, never striking it rich, but relishing the richness of the time spent with her daughters, Les, Terry, and Deb. When Dorothy’s health began to decline five years ago, these daughters provided the care that allowed Dorothy to live out her life in the comfort of her own home. For the past two years, Dorothy particularly valued the companionship of her granddaughter and personal caregiver, Sarah, claiming, “Everyone should have a Sarah.”
Dorothy is survived by three sons and three daughters: Pat (Margaret) Barnhart, Dickinson; Les (Gordi) Pirkl, Dickinson; Mike (Becki) Barnhart, Mandan; Terry (Keith) Kadrmas, Washburn; Deb Bouvette, Dickinson, and Jim (Val) Barnhart, Tucson Ariz.; and by sixteen grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. Preceding her in death were her parents, her husband, Jerry, brothers Allen, Chester, and Lloyd Grow, and sister Lois Jansson.
Memorials are preferred to the American Diabetes Association or to American Red Cross.
