Dorothy Jean Rauh

RAUH, Dorothy Jean (nee Bivens) October 30, 2016 was born July 20, 1937 in Springfield, Illinois. She was predeceased by her husband, William, her sister Peggy (Bivens) Bradshaw, and brother David Bivens. She is survived by brother Thomas Bivens and sister Jennifer (Lyman) Lindsey, and daughters, Caryn (Terry) Heller of Greeley, Colorado, and Cheryl (Doug) Wild of Mesa, Arizona. Dorothy is also survived by six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Ben Heller, of Waynesboro, Virginia; Matthew Heller, of Tucson, Arizona; Lydia (Michael) Brown, and children, Jacob, Zamien, and Cadence, of Levine, Arizona; Julia (Jeremiah) Garland, and children Amaya, and Malakai, of Phoenix, Arizona; Cecilia Wild and Sophia Wild of Mesa, Arizona.

She came to Arizona in February 1940 with her family where she spent the rest of her life. Dorothy was a graduate of Tucson High School in 1955. She married her only love, William Rauh Jr., on December 27, 1957. Bill and Dorothy spent six years in Flagstaff, Arizona where Bill taught at Flagstaff High School. Their first daughter, Caryn Elizabeth, was born on December 31, 1962. The family moved back to Tucson in the summer of 1965. Their second daughter, Cheryl Diane, was born in 1966.

In 1967, Bill and Dorothy bought property in Pinetop, Arizona where they would eventually build a summer home. This home became a retreat from the heat every summer and a gathering place for family and friend. Caryn and Cheryl learned to love the freedom of roaming the woods. Even Dorothy’s poodle, Pipi, loved the cabin. Grandchildren loved to visit and go on many adventures. Her granddaughter, Julia Wild was even married in the front lawn of the cabin. Great grandson, Zamien Wild, learned to walk there.

Dorothy’s work in various school settings prompted her to seek a teaching degree like Bill. She graduated from the University of Arizona in 1979 with a degree in education. She taught in Tucson Unified School District for many years, spending the last 12 years at Utterback Junior High. While at Utterback, she taught Language Arts and Photography. She was the coordinating teacher for the school newspaper and the yearbook. She touched the lives of many students who loved her.

Dorothy joined Bill in retirement in 1994. They enjoyed many years of world travel together. She and Bill was a very active member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. She loved to sing in the church choir and was a member of the Reach the World Choir for several years. She enjoyed traveling, reading, singing, sewing and crafts, and being with family and friends.

Dorothy lost her husband of just shy of 58 years of marriage on December 16, 2015. She joined Bill with the Lord in Heaven just less than a year later after a long hard fight with cancer. She will be sorely missed by all that were touched by her love.

A memorial service will be held on November 11, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 830 N. 1st Ave. Tucson, Arizona. Remembrances can be made to the Music Coordinator’s Fund at Grace Lutheran Church in lieu of flowers.