Dorothy J Nicholas

Funeral service for Dorothy June Nicholas, 88, of Shawnee will be 10:00 am Tuesday, December 10, 2013, at Living Love Christian Center with Pastor Mark Guinn, officiating. Burial will be in Dale Cemetery under the direction of Resthaven Funeral Home.

Dorothy left for her heavenly home on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

She was born in Porum, Oklahoma, on June 12, 1925 to Julius and Emma (Rushing) Smith. The oldest of eighteen children Dorothy learned responsibility and dependability at a very young age. These qualities prepared her for the unforeseen future she later faced when her husband Cecil Carter died leaving her with eight of twelve children at home to raise. She accepted this challenge with characteristic resiliency, taking a first job outside homemaking to support her family. Her first job as a widower was at Seikel’s Department Store in McLoud, Ok. She was thankful to her many friends from Northside Assembly of God Church, the Dale Baptist Church and Dale Public Schools that helped through those tough years. An avid reader and one who knew the power of an education saw there was a void in Early Childhood Education in Potawatomie County. She pursued the organization of the first Head Start Program for pre-school students in the Dale/ McLoud area and served as chair of the board for several years.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, three husbands, four sons: Kenneth, Kelly, Ricky and Scott Carter; one son-in-law: Roy K. Loman; and step-son: Richard Flowers.

Those left to cherish her memory are: her daughters: Cecey and husband Gene Plunkett, Carole Carter, Kay and husband Mike Conaway, Mary Lou; daughter-in-law: Chong Carter; sons: Ronald, Thomas Lynn and wife Alice, David and wife Cindy, Richard and wife Kathleen, Dean and wife Kristy; step-children: Mike and wife Marinda Flowers, Russell and wife, B.J. Flowers and Vicki and husband Larry Hope; 33 grandchildren; 41 great grandchildren; brothers: Sam, Randy, Bill, Cleo, Carl. Smith; sisters: Eva Hendrix, Stella Richardson, Freda McHorse, Thaylia Casteel, Margie Klusmeyer, Sioux Nell Vann, Jo Hicks; and numerous nieces and nephews.