Dorothy Gantzert

STERLING – Dorothy Hamblock Gantzert, 95, of Grand Victorian, Sterling, died Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010, at Rockford Memorial Hospital.

The second of three children born to Joseph and Delia Hamblock, Dorothy was born Jan. 30, 1915. The Hamblock farm in Tampico, where she was raised with her sister, Gladys (Ruhl) and brother, Charles, has been in the Hamblock family for 138 years.

She graduated from Tampico High School and later graduated from cosmetology school in Rockford.

For several decades, she owned Sterling Colonial Beauty Shoppe at 607 E. Third St. It was declared a historical site by the Sterling Rock Falls Historical Society because of an overnight stay by Abraham Lincoln on July 18, 1856, when it was a private home.

Dorothy married Lawrence King on Oct. 17, 1956, who died from complications related to Parkinson’s disease in 1969. She married Walter Gantzert on Sept. 8, 1973. He also preceded her in death.

She is survived by three nieces; two nephews; and one stepdaughter, Mary Mortensen.

She also was preceded in death by her parents; one brother; one sister; and one stepson, Greg Mortensen.

A devout Christian, Dorothy was a lifelong member of St. Mary Catholic Church, Sterling.

Those who knew her will long remember her for her keen intelligence, her integrity, her positive, joyful attitude, and her amazing determination in the face of adversity and physical barriers.

Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Garland Funeral Home, Tampico, with Deacon Bill Lemmer officiating. Burial will be at St. Mary Cemetery, Tampico.

Visitation will be from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

A memorial has been established in her memory to The Parkinson’s Foundation.

Visit www.garlandfuneralhome.com to send condolences.