Dorothy Belle Glover was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on August 11, 1933, to Myrtle and Newman Glover. Over the course of her childhood, the family moved to various places in Tennessee as required by her father’s work as a civil engineer for the Tennessee Highway Department. They finally settled on a Glover family farm in Obion County, while her father continued his work for the state.
Dorothy graduated from Dixie High School in Obion County, Tennessee, and attended the College of Nursing at The University of Tennessee (Health Science Center) Medical Sciences in Memphis. After graduating with her Bachelor of Nursing, Dorothy was an instructor there at UT Memphis until she took a several- year time out to raise her children. Later, Dorothy taught at Memphis State University School of Nursing for several years, and then at Shelby State Community College when the Associate Degree of Nursing program moved there.
Dorothy was a conscientious and caring instructor in the classroom as well as in the hospital setting. Many former students worked in various settings in the Memphis area, and it was not uncommon for her to run into former students when she or a close friend or family member was in the hospital. They would often say that she was very intelligent, a good communicator, and very concerned for her patients as well as her students.
Dorothy Glover married Gough Wheat in April 1952, and they remained married until her death. In the last few years of her life, her husband took care of her faithfully as her health declined. They had two children, a son, Timothy L. Wheat (Ginger) and a daughter, Marcia Wheat Hotchkiss (Tom). Later they also had five grandsons to whom they were both devoted - Wheat Hotchkiss (Brittany), Newman Wheat, Chandler Hotchkiss (Jess), Austin Wheat (Caroline), and JJ Wheat, and two great-grandchildren, Sawyer and Hadley Hotchkiss.
Dorothy found her biggest joy in being a loving grandmother who spent lots of time with her five grandsons, and they enjoyed spending time with her as well. She also had many friends who she phoned and visited often. Over the years, she was active in church and spent the last three decades of her life as a faithful member of Second Baptist Church, Memphis. One outreach ministry that she especially treasured was handing out New Testaments to the families of babies born at Baptist East Hospital. The family appreciates the many ways that the church ministered to her as part of their church family. Dorothy also enjoyed sports and particularly liked cheering for the Tennessee Volunteers and the Memphis Tigers.
Dorothy Glover Wheat was preceded in death by her beloved grandmother, Mary Belle Houser, her parents, Newman and Myrtle Glover, and her two brothers, William and Charles Glover. Besides her immediate family listed above, she leaves her sister, Barbara Cleek, and several nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will be conducted by Dr. Stephen Cook at Second Baptist Church, 4680 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis at 1 p.m. on February, 22 2024. A visitation will begin at 12 noon.
The family requests that any memorials be given to Second Baptist Church or the American Cancer Society.
