Dorothy Hetrick

Dorothy M. (Richards) Hetrick, age 95 of Erie passed away Wednesday , March 22, 2023 at UPMC Hamot Medical Center. She was born December 7, 1927 in Brookville, PA the daughter of the late Scott and Florence (Confer) Richards.

As the youngest of 5 children, she frequently had more energy than almost everyone around her.  She even mowed her own lawn until she was 93 and she reluctantly had to allow others to help her. She was fond of gardening and her bleeding-heart plant was the jewel of the yard where she resided for several decades. She was thankful to have neighbors that helped her as chores and errands became more demanding so that she could remain in her beloved home.

She surrounded herself with trinkets of beauty on the inside of the house as well.  She was enchanted with the colonial figurines depicting pastoral scenes, as well as the many dolls in whose expressions she observed a rich array of emotions and whose dresses represented whole narratives of fashion.

Dorothy loved Erie, and she watched the sun rise and set by the lake for most of her life. She worked in the local factories and as a sales clerk for Woolworth stores, but she could be found dancing and swimming after punching out. She was fond of running her toes through the sand as she narrated that the shores of Presque Isle were not always beaches. While the snowy winters were a hinderance to be navigated, she enjoyed the moist air of spring and the artists palette of leafy colors in the fall. She was active in the senior center and loved to try her luck on the penny slots at the casino.

Besides her parents she was preceded in death by the father of her children, Grant Hetrick and a son, Kevin Hetrick.

Dorothy is survived by a son, Fritz Hetrick and his wife Janell of Aurora, CO and is the grandmother of Angela Burdick (Mark), Hans Hetrick (Breanne), and Jinnell Hetrick (Bernie Asmus)  and is the great-grandmother of Brook and Chase Burdick and Donovan Asmus.

There will be no visitation and private graveside services will be held at Erie County Memorial Gardens.

Arrangements by the Quinn Funeral Home, West 9^th & Liberty St.

Send condolences to www.BurtonQuinnScott.com