Dorothy Juskie passed away peacefully in her home on October 28, 2022 after a short illness. Dorothy was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 30, 1933 to Francis and Ben Bartosh. She was the eldest of three sisters (Elaine Juskie and Carol Good).
Dorothy worked as a secretary at Stone Container Corp. in Chicago when she met the love of her life, Bernie Juskie at a community dance. They married on January 28, 1956 and were married for 63 years, until Bernie passed away in 2019. They had two children, Bob (Lori) Juskie and Jodi Juskie, and three grandchildren, Nick Juskie, Courtney Juskie and Jack Thorne.
Around the time her children started school, Dorothy returned to school part time, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Speech Therapy. Dorothy worked with special needs students in the Orland Park, Illinois school system, and later in Apopka, Florida. She took great joy in making a difference in the lives of her students and in finding fun ways to help them learn. Judging by the number of Christmas ornaments she still has from former students, it was clear that they loved her too.
She and Bernie moved to Apopka Florida in the mid-80’s to escape Chicago winters and to have year round ability to play golf, which was a passion for each of them. After retirement, Dorothy volunteered her time at a local food pantry, where she made numerous close friends, and continued to work until the pandemic in 2020.
In March 2020, Dorothy and her family began playing Yahtzee on Saturday evenings via Zoom as a way to stay connected during the pandemic. The family added themes to the game nights, often involving elaborate costumes. Dorothy began planning her costume as soon as the next theme was announced, putting great thought and orders to Amazon into each event. Yahtzee night continued right up until Dorothy’s death.
Dorothy was a woman of great faith. She listened to mass every morning and included a long list of friends and family in her morning and evening prayers. As it became clear that Dorothy’s condition was not curable, she said that she was not frightened because she knew her God was taking her and was confident that she would be reunited with Bernie.
Dorothy will be missed by her many friends and her loving family, who are grateful to have had so many years with her and feel lucky to have had someone to whom saying goodbye is so hard.
A funeral mass for Dorothy will be held on January 27, 2023 at 10:00 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 836 South Orange Blossom Trail, Apopka, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the American Cancer Society in the name of Dorothy Juskie.