Dorothy Lee Rowberg
Dorothy Lee Rowberg, 97, of Mars died Nov. 10 at Paramount Senior Living in Adams Township.
She was born Dorothy Lee Tooney in Pasadena, Calif., on Feb. 8, 1918.
Her mother, Nieta Tooney, was a music teacher and a part-time piano player for churches and for the silent movies.
Her father, Theodore Tooney, was the chauffeur for the Eastman family, a well-to-do family living in Clinton, Iowa.
The Eastmans spent most winters in Southern California, and when they did, the Tooney family went with them so Theodore could drive for Mr. Eastman. Due to this arrangement, Dorothy grew up living in both Clinton, Iowa, and Pasadena, Calif.
She was the second of two children, coming after her older brother, Theodore (Ted).
Dorothy settled permanently in California during her high school years, graduating from South Pasadena High School in 1934.
She went on to UCLA and graduated in 1939 with a bachelor of arts degree in English. She worked in several high-level secretarial positions for major aerospace companies during and after World War II.
She was working for the Douglas Aircraft Co. when she met her beloved husband, Eldon G. Rowberg, in early 1950. They married Aug. 4, 1950, and settled in the San Fernando Valley, building their first house in Van Nuys.
Eldon and Dorothy moved to Woodland Hills, Calif., in 1962. They bought land and contracted to build a house in this new and growing community. Eldon and Dorothy made their home there until moving to Mars in 2004 to be near Karen and her family.
Once married, Dorothy focused on her husband and children, but also believed strongly in giving back to her community.
As soon as her children were of school age, she began volunteering at their schools. She started at the elementary school and then in 1969 moved up to volunteering in the library at the new El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills.
She was responsible for managing and updating the card catalog system and the records of all the media in the library. When she started, it was “old school” and all the catalog cards were updated by hand. In time, the administrators decided to computerize all the records, and Dorothy stepped up and learned to use the complicated software required to build a database for the thousands of books in the library.
She liked to learn new things and rose to the challenge. The librarians totally depended on her and the other volunteers who worked with her. She served for 34 dedicated years until she and Eldon moved to Pennsylvania.
She won many awards for her service, including the KNX News Radio Volunteer of the Year Award. After moving to Pennsylvania, she continued giving back by volunteering in the Cranberry Library until health issues prevented her from doing it any longer.
In addition to her multiple careers as a wife, mother and library volunteer, she was a pianist, seamstress, avid reader, a cat lover and a fantastic Scrabble player.
She remained an active part of her family's lives until her very last months.
Dorothy and Eldon were only two months short of their 65th wedding anniversary when Eldon died on June 3, 2015.
Dorothy is survived by her son, Brian Lee, and his wife, Linda Rowberg of Anaheim, Calif., their three sons and wives, Jason and Jessica, Jeff and Courtney, and Gregory and Liz Rowberg, as well as by Jason's children Joshua, Samuel, Nathan, James and Michael, and Jeff's daughter Julia.
Dorothy's daughter Karen Arendt and her husband, James, live in Mars and have two children, Michael and Karlee.
In honor of Dorothy's love of books and reading, the family is asking that any donations be sent to the Mars Public Library.
ROWBERG — Dorothy Rowberg, who died Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, will be buried in a military cemetery with her husband Eldon, who was a U.S. Army veteran, later in the spring.Arrangements are handled by the McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home, 238 Crowe Ave. Mars, and condolences are available at www.mcdonald-aeberli.com.
