50+ Lifestyles

RSVP: Lead With Experience

By Bill Sedlacek
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Eastern Iowa and Western Illnois

Evelyn Dorothy – Making Service Fun

Evelyn (Evy) Dorothy

It isn’t very often that one meets someone like Evelyn (Evy) Dorothy.  She should wear a warning label that reads “This lady’s energy and good humor is extremely contagious. Anyone coming in contact with her will feel better about everything after meeting her.”  Part of the reason for her upbeat attitude that day may have been she, an avid Cubs fan, had watched them shut out Pittsburg to win the wild card the night before.

Evy and her husband, Ward have been married since 1946 when Ward returned from WWII service and have known each other since high school.  They raised 3 children, two girls and a boy and have 4 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. They farmed just outside Aledo Illinois until 1964 when they sold out and moved to the Quad Cities. Ward went to work in automotive sales retiring from Strieters and Evy worked in office management, retiring from Eagle Engineering. She has only good things to say about both their employers and I’m sure both places of business feel the same about Evy and Ward.

She and Ward both have a passion for airplanes. They started the Aledo Airport, building a couple of hangers to get things “Off the ground.”  They also started a business with a partner, the Dorothy and Johnson (D&J) Aero Svc.

Evy and Ward remain active at 89 and 90 years old. They still take their boat, the Family Toy, a 31 foot Trojan cruiser, out on the river. They have a very impressive list of past volunteering that includes the Davenport Park board events, RSVP mailings, decorating CASI for holiday events, delivering books to individuals who are homebound, providing transportation when needed, and too many more to list here. Overall Evy has contributed over 5000 hours under the RSVP umbrella. Assuming 2000 hours is a work year, that’s over 2 ½ work years that she has contributed to the better the lives of others in our Quad City community. Along the way, she has found the time to donate 11 gallons of blood. Considering her energy level at 89, I was tempted to ask her if she could spare another pint or so, thinking it would lend new energy to my 75-year-old body.

Although she and Ward are open to other volunteering, they are currently involved with Bettendorf library book sales, the St. John’s Methodist church food pantry and the PUNCH program. The library book sales are a good fit, as Evy is an avid reader. She uses a Nook E-Book, laying waste to the notion that all elderly folks are challenged when faced with current technology. They also pick up damaged canned goods from Hy-Vee for the St John’s pantry, one of the largest–if not the largest–volunteer food pantry in the Quad cities.

The PUNCH program seems to be the one activity closest to her heart. PUNCH stands for People Uniting Neighbors and Churches. Seven local churches collect money for the program. Private donations and grants also support it. The money collected is used to buy food items such as peanut butter, jelly, cereal and nutrition bars. The food is taken to the 1st Baptist Church on Perry Street in Davenport and packed into backpacks for children that have been identified and vetted as underprivileged. Evy and Ward collect the backpacks the day before packing and bring them back to the school on the last Friday of the month. They also help in the always important afterwards clean up, breaking down and bring the empty boxes to the recycle center.  This year the backpacks are being distributed at J. B. Young School in Davenport. She and Ward did 50 packs in September and expect to do more in October.

It was inspiring to talk to Evy. I hope she and Ward have many more years of helping others and cruising on the river in their “Family Toy.”  If you think it would be fun to volunteer with Evy.  Call RSVP at 309-793-4425 or email dlayton@wiaaa.org to learn about opportunities where she volunteers.