Dorothy Marie Rentz Cardwell passed into heaven on October 22, 2012 after a brief bout with cancer.
Dorothy was born on August 15, 1918 to Robert Walker and Ida Weathers Rentz in Rockport, TX, where her father was employed building ships for World War I. She grew up in San Antonio and later in Edinburg, TX. She began playing the piano for church and school functions at age 12. An excellent student, she graduated from Edinburg High School in 1936 and attended Pan American College where she worked for nine cents an hour to pay her tuition.
She moved back to San Antonio where she worked for photographer E. O. Goldbeck and Fox Photo. She frequently visited her grandparents in Pilgrim, where she met Henry Mitchell Cardwell. They married in Pilgrim on December 24, 1941. They lived in Bryan until her husband entered military service in World War II. Dorothy and her infant son returned to Smiley to be close to her family who had moved back from the Valley. She moved to Nixon in 1944. She and Mitchell had three more children. Her love of learning, intelligence, work ethic and respect for others made her an exceptional mother and role model. To her children and grandchildren she stressed doing your chosen studies and work with excellence, taking responsibility for your actions, plus being a good citizen and servant of God.
Dorothy worked at the small Nixon library and gave piano lessons. She was a faithful member of the First United Methodist Church of Nixon and served the church with her musical talents for more than 50 years.
She took additional college courses and began her civil service career at Brooks Air Force Base as a clerk typist. With additional training, she became a purchasing agent, supplying equipment for the fledgling space program. An astute businesswoman, she became a purchasing contractor for the Air Force and was named Outstanding Technical Woman at Brooks AFB in 1975. After retiring, she loved to travel and toured Australia, including Alice Springs, Nixon's sister city. She also visited New Zealand, Fiji, and Mexico as well as many states in the U.S. Dorothy had a lifelong love of reading and helped reorganize and expand the Aphne Patillo Library in Nixon. Her love of nature was evident in her garden where she created habitat for wildflowers, butterflies and songbirds. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; brother Stanley Rentz; husband of 53 years Mitchell; son John Michael Cardwell; and grandsons John Robert Cardwell and Jeffrey David Cardwell.
Dorothy was born on August 15, 1918 to Robert Walker and Ida Weathers Rentz in Rockport, TX, where her father was employed building ships for World War I. She grew up in San Antonio and later in Edinburg, TX. She began playing the piano for church and school functions at age 12. An excellent student, she graduated from Edinburg High School in 1936 and attended Pan American College where she worked for nine cents an hour to pay her tuition.
She moved back to San Antonio where she worked for photographer E. O. Goldbeck and Fox Photo. She frequently visited her grandparents in Pilgrim, where she met Henry Mitchell Cardwell. They married in Pilgrim on December 24, 1941. They lived in Bryan until her husband entered military service in World War II. Dorothy and her infant son returned to Smiley to be close to her family who had moved back from the Valley. She moved to Nixon in 1944. She and Mitchell had three more children. Her love of learning, intelligence, work ethic and respect for others made her an exceptional mother and role model. To her children and grandchildren she stressed doing your chosen studies and work with excellence, taking responsibility for your actions, plus being a good citizen and servant of God.
Dorothy worked at the small Nixon library and gave piano lessons. She was a faithful member of the First United Methodist Church of Nixon and served the church with her musical talents for more than 50 years.
She took additional college courses and began her civil service career at Brooks Air Force Base as a clerk typist. With additional training, she became a purchasing agent, supplying equipment for the fledgling space program. An astute businesswoman, she became a purchasing contractor for the Air Force and was named Outstanding Technical Woman at Brooks AFB in 1975. After retiring, she loved to travel and toured Australia, including Alice Springs, Nixon's sister city. She also visited New Zealand, Fiji, and Mexico as well as many states in the U.S. Dorothy had a lifelong love of reading and helped reorganize and expand the Aphne Patillo Library in Nixon. Her love of nature was evident in her garden where she created habitat for wildflowers, butterflies and songbirds. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; brother Stanley Rentz; husband of 53 years Mitchell; son John Michael Cardwell; and grandsons John Robert Cardwell and Jeffrey David Cardwell.
Dorothy Marie Rentz Cardwell passed into heaven on October 22, 2012 after a brief bout with cancer.
Dorothy was born on August 15, 1918 to Robert Walker and Ida Weathers Rentz in Rockport, TX, where her father was employed building ships for World War I. She grew up in San Antonio and later in Edinburg, TX. She began playing the piano for church and school functions at age 12. An excellent student, she graduated from Edinburg High School in 1936 and attended Pan American College where she worked for nine cents an hour to pay her tuition.
She moved back to San Antonio where she worked for photographer E. O. Goldbeck and Fox Photo. She frequently visited her grandparents in Pilgrim, where she met Henry Mitchell Cardwell. They married in Pilgrim on December 24, 1941. They lived in Bryan until her husband entered military service in World War II. Dorothy and her infant son returned to Smiley to be close to her family who had moved back from the Valley. She moved to Nixon in 1944. She and Mitchell had three more children. Her love of learning, intelligence, work ethic and respect for others made her an exceptional mother and role model. To her children and grandchildren she stressed doing your chosen studies and work with excellence, taking responsibility for your actions, plus being a good citizen and servant of God.
Dorothy worked at the small Nixon library and gave piano lessons. She was a faithful member of the First United Methodist Church of Nixon and served the church with her musical talents for more than 50 years.
She took additional college courses and began her civil service career at Brooks Air Force Base as a clerk typist. With additional training, she became a purchasing agent, supplying equipment for the fledgling space program. An astute businesswoman, she became a purchasing contractor for the Air Force and was named Outstanding Technical Woman at Brooks AFB in 1975. After retiring, she loved to travel and toured Australia, including Alice Springs, Nixon's sister city. She also visited New Zealand, Fiji, and Mexico as well as many states in the U.S. Dorothy had a lifelong love of reading and helped reorganize and expand the Aphne Patillo Library in Nixon. Her love of nature was evident in her garden where she created habitat for wildflowers, butterflies and songbirds. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; brother Stanley Rentz; husband of 53 years Mitchell; son John Michael Cardwell; and grandsons John Robert Cardwell and Jeffrey David Cardwell.
Dorothy was born on August 15, 1918 to Robert Walker and Ida Weathers Rentz in Rockport, TX, where her father was employed building ships for World War I. She grew up in San Antonio and later in Edinburg, TX. She began playing the piano for church and school functions at age 12. An excellent student, she graduated from Edinburg High School in 1936 and attended Pan American College where she worked for nine cents an hour to pay her tuition.
She moved back to San Antonio where she worked for photographer E. O. Goldbeck and Fox Photo. She frequently visited her grandparents in Pilgrim, where she met Henry Mitchell Cardwell. They married in Pilgrim on December 24, 1941. They lived in Bryan until her husband entered military service in World War II. Dorothy and her infant son returned to Smiley to be close to her family who had moved back from the Valley. She moved to Nixon in 1944. She and Mitchell had three more children. Her love of learning, intelligence, work ethic and respect for others made her an exceptional mother and role model. To her children and grandchildren she stressed doing your chosen studies and work with excellence, taking responsibility for your actions, plus being a good citizen and servant of God.
Dorothy worked at the small Nixon library and gave piano lessons. She was a faithful member of the First United Methodist Church of Nixon and served the church with her musical talents for more than 50 years.
She took additional college courses and began her civil service career at Brooks Air Force Base as a clerk typist. With additional training, she became a purchasing agent, supplying equipment for the fledgling space program. An astute businesswoman, she became a purchasing contractor for the Air Force and was named Outstanding Technical Woman at Brooks AFB in 1975. After retiring, she loved to travel and toured Australia, including Alice Springs, Nixon's sister city. She also visited New Zealand, Fiji, and Mexico as well as many states in the U.S. Dorothy had a lifelong love of reading and helped reorganize and expand the Aphne Patillo Library in Nixon. Her love of nature was evident in her garden where she created habitat for wildflowers, butterflies and songbirds. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; brother Stanley Rentz; husband of 53 years Mitchell; son John Michael Cardwell; and grandsons John Robert Cardwell and Jeffrey David Cardwell.
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