Art, music lover worked in BGSU store, sewed quilts

7/25/2003

PEMBERVILLE, Ohio - Dorothy D. Sander, a lover of art and music and a lifelong resident here, died of a stroke yesterday in Bowling Green Manor. She was 86.

Mrs. Sander was born on Dec. 27, 1916, in Pemberville to Fred and Sophia Herman.

While at Pemberville High School, she developed a love of music. She learned to play the piano and joined the Bethlehem Lutheran Choir. She would remain an active member of the choir for 50 years, her son, James Sander, said.

Shortly after graduating from high school, she married her high school sweetheart, Alfred Sander, on Oct. 14, 1940.

In addition to her passion for music, she developed an interest in arts and crafts during her years as a homemaker. One of her favorite activities was quilting, her son said.

“She was a perfectionist. When she was quilting, she was very, very fussy. Every stitch had to be just so,” he said.

When her husband was killed in an automobile accident in 1966, Mrs. Sander's children encouraged her to go to work at Bowling Green State University as a clerk in the university bookstore's art department. They felt that by working at the bookstore, she would be able to put her knowledge of arts and crafts to practical use.

“Her knowledge of crafts was a very big help to her as she displayed merchandise and assisted customers,” Mr. Sander said.

Mrs. Sander worked at the bookstore until 1980, but continued to develop her skills as a quilter throughout the rest of her life.

Surviving are her son, James; daughter, Jean Musolf; a granddaughter, and two great-grandsons.

The body will be in the Marsh Funeral Home, Pemberville, after 2 p.m. today. Services will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Pemberville, where the body will be an hour before the service.

The family requests tributes to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Music Fund.