Dorothee Edith Trowbridge

Born Dorothee Edith Kohring on August 1, 1923, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she was the fifth child among eight of Karl Herrmann Kohring and Charlotte Fredericke Hayde.

Growing up in Chicago during the Depression, Dorothee learned to be hard-working and self-reliant, just as her mother was. She helped care for her three younger sisters. Her father worked as a plasterer, and she learned to navigate the bus and trolley system of Chicago by delivering invoices and collecting payments from her father’s clients.

Dorothee was always adventuresome and fearless. After graduating from high school, she decided to go on a train trip. She had saved enough money for a round-trip ticket to South Carolina, but on second thought decided to exchange it for a one-way ticket to the farthest destination she could afford, which was Gallup, New Mexico. After two years, she returned to Chicago and married Leslie Trowbridge, a high school physics teacher. His career in science education took them to many countries around the world, including Taiwan, Ukraine, Korea, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Dorothee was a role model for living a life of caring, patience and gratitude. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandparent who instilled in her offspring the same values.

A celebration of Dorothee’s 101st birthday on August 1st was held at the Brookdale Senior Living facility in Greeley. Dorothee was feted with stories and tributes by many in her extended Kohring family who gathered in Estes Park, Colorado. The staff at Brookdale have provided excellent care for Dorothee. If you would like to recognize them, please consider donating to the Holiday Fund, Brookdale Greeley, 1999 West 38th Avenue, Greeley, CO 80634.

She is survived by four children: David, Thomas, Edith and Howard, nine grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Leslie and seven siblings: Paul, Ozwald, Hildegard, Heinz, Elfriede, Charlotte and Gertrude.