Dorothy Marie Van Horn

It is with great sadness that the family of Dorothy M. Van Horn announces her passing on November 10, 2022 at the age of 105 years. She was born to Joseph James McCarthy and Josephine Carroll on May 16, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. The McCarthy family settled in Teaneck, New Jersey in the 1920s and Dorothy attended St. Cecilia High School in Englewood. She developed a lifelong passion for dancing at a young age and dreamt of becoming a Rockette. While Radio City Music Hall wasn’t to be her destiny, she pursued a vocation as a caregiver, becoming an early graduate of the Holy Name Hospital School of Nursing. On December 14, 1940, she married her St. Cecilia’s schoolmate and love of her life, Henry Bernard Van Horn. The couple raised a family and enjoyed 52 years of marital bliss until Henry’s death in 1993.

After their sons had grown, Dot and Henry embarked on a series of cruises that took them to the far corners of the globe. They were always eager participants in passenger skits and routines onboard. While on dry land, they became competitive ballroom dancers and took great pride in their numerous awards. After Henry retired, the couple bought the attached house next door to their daughter-in-law’s parents in Whiting, New Jersey, where their grandchildren delighted in visiting both sets of grandparents by crossing a short lawn. Visits to Whiting were made memorable by shuffleboard tournaments, Easter egg hunts, Dorothy’s elaborate meals, and raucous games of Pictionary.

Following Henry’s death, she relocated to Indianapolis to be closer to her family. She lived at Marquette, where her sweet demeanor and ever-present smile earned her countless friends during her twenty years of residency. Exhibiting her nursing instincts and unshakeable faith in God, she became a fixture in the health center, where she visited and prayed with many friends during their illnesses. Clutched rosary beads were a usual sight in her hands and she regularly prayed many novenas; if you had Dorothy pleading your case, you were in great shape. When the time came for her to move into assisted living, she joined the Wii bowling team and was part of a national championship team at the age of 101.

Dorothy is survived by her sons Robert E. (Eileen) Van Horn and Richard F. (Antoinette) Van Horn, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews who were especially dear to her. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her beloved siblings Audrey McCarthy Turner, Joseph James “Jim” McCarthy Jr., and Carol McCarthy Sonzogni.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 am on December 19, 2022 at St. Elizabeth Seton Church at 10655 Haverstick Rd. in Carmel, Indiana, with a calling beginning at 9:30 am. Interment beside her beloved husband at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York will follow at a later date.