Died March 19, 2006

Dorothy Diemer Hendry began eternal springtime Sunday at the family home in Huntsville. A Huntsville resident since 1962, Dorothy will always be remembered as a beloved mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, sister, poet, writer, educator, expert gardener and loving and knowledgeable friend.

A celebration of life will be held in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in Huntsville at 11 a.m. Saturday followed by a reception in the fellowship hall. Excerpts from Dr. Hendry's published poetry, music, photographs, and recordings will be included. To know Dorothy on earth was to walk quietly in the sunshine with her through her rose garden, to have her talk of being a gardener. She lives on in the poetry she has penned, the words she has written.

She is survived by her husband, retired colonel Wickliffe B. Hendry; sister, Dr. Emma Lou Diemer of Santa Barbara, Calif.; three daughters, Betty Augsburger and husband, Larry, Terri Sims and husband, Dr. Richard Sims, all of Huntsville, and Bonny Pfitzer Gierhart and husband, Steve, of Brownsboro; one son, Alan, of San Bernadino, Calif.; eight grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren; and well-loved extended family.

She was preceded in death by an infant son, Byron, and brothers, George and John. Dorothy was born April 11, 1918, in Excelsior Springs, Mo., the daughter of Dr. George Diemer and Myrtle Diemer. Dorothy earned her B.S. degree in education and A.B. degrees from Central Missouri State Teachers College and her M.A. degree from Columbia University.

Dorothy met Col. Hendry during World War II, when she was chief hostess and executive board member for Mid-Continent Airlines. He was on active duty and flying to Alaska for cold-weather artillery testing, 1943-44. During early married life, Dorothy taught English at the University of Minnesota. Later the family moved to Missouri and Kansas, where Dorothy taught high school English and her husband was an engineer with Midwest Research Institute and then headed the engineering department of the University of Missouri at Kansas City. When her husband received an excellent job offer at Redstone Arsenal in 1962, Dorothy began teaching English at Huntsville High School. She became chairman of the English Department, a position she held from 1965-1981. She developed an outstanding English Elective Program and Advanced Placement English Program. In 1965 she founded Spectrum, the literary magazine for Huntsville High School, which won top state and national honors through the years.

She served on visiting committees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and chaired the Secondary Education Special Advisory Committee for the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She was a critical reader, writer and editor for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. from 1974-1990 and wrote teacher's manuals and high school anthologies. She was conferred a doctor of humane letters degree by Central Missouri State University in 1999. Dr. Hendry often collaborated with her sister, Dr. Emma Lou Diemer, on vocal music. Her published works include: The Holy Child, a Christmas cantata published by The Sacred Music Press; "Christian Women, Christian Men," a hymn in the Presbyterian Hymnal; "Who Gave Us the World," an anthem published by The Pilgrim Press; "To Him All Glory Give," an anthem for chorus and orchestra published by ElkanVogel Co., and many others. Dorothy also wrote many other literary pieces including poems, plays and television scripts. "Final Examination," a short story, won first place in the National League of American Pen Women Letters competition, Mobile, in 1997. Dorothy was active in the Huntsville Literary Association and League of American Pen Women. She was president of Phi Delta Gamma, honorary women's society in education, and was Phi Delta Gamma's nominee for Alabama District Service Award. She also served on the board of the National Council of Teachers of English and the board of the Alabama Council of Teachers of English. She served on many state accrediting committees and traveled widely throughout the South. She received the distinguished service award from the Huntsville/Madison County Retired Teachers Association.

She was president of the Twickenham Rose Society and chairman of the 1988 Rose Show. She was one of the founders of the Rose Garden of Huntsville Botanical Garden. She was active in her church, First United Methodist, writing hymns, texts and church plays.

She was honored by the Alabama Legislature in 2002 in recognition of her long service and contribution to education. Rep. Sue Schmitz presented this honor. Her poem "Towers of Light," written after the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center, was entered into the U.S. Congressional Record by Rep. Bud Cramer in 2002. Dorothy's love of nature came from her family's beautiful gardens and from summers spent in Colorado when her father, a college president, would teach on campus in Boulder, Colo., and the family would stay in a mountain cabin.

Throughout the years, Dorothy Diemer Hendry retained a great interest in education in Alabama and throughout the world. She was an exceptional person, cherished for her intelligence, calm, steadiness, her love for people and for knowledge, her respect for nature, and her unwavering faith in the future of our country and the world, particularly through the enlightened education and training of its children as well as its adults. In lieu of sending flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.

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