Dorothy Euvene Popovich's Obituary
POPOVICH, Dorothy Euvene Dyer, 106, of Treasure Island, FL, died January 19, 2024, on her 106th birthday. She was born in Johnstown, PA on January 19, 1918, to Archie Dyer and Gertrude Stormer Dyer. Her father Archie died that same year at the age of 27, a victim of the Spanish flu pandemic. Her mother a housewife, was left to care for her infant Dorothy, decades before any type of support or assistance, other than family that was available. Her mother Gertrude remarried when Dorothy was a teenager. Dorothy’s stepfather, Charles Hecker, was a wonderful man, loved by her and beloved Grandpa to her future children.
Dorothy was very artistic but turned to the practical to support herself. After graduating from Johnstown High School, she attended Cambria Rowe Business College, where she learned secretarial and bookkeeping skills. Her first job was with the Johnstown Coal and Coke Corporation. As part of her duties, she traveled to the then bustling coal mining town of Vindex, Maryland. There she counted tipples of coal and scrip in – scrip out”. Later in life she shared vivid memories of the company store and the flimsy windowless “shotgun” shacks where the coalminers and their families lived. Today Vindex is a ghost town along the Potomac River, its ruins enveloped by the Appalachian Forest.
Dorothy’s absolutely favorite career was as a realtor. After moving to Treasure Island with her husband Peter in 1971, her son Richard, an established realtor himself, urged his mom to take the realtor training course. She did and was a natural. Soon, she was collecting not only commissions, but also numerous awards for excellence, as well as lifelong friends. She enjoyed her real estate career well into her 80’s and retired only due to Peter’s declining health.
To know Dorothy was to love her. She loved and wanted the best for each on in her life and was loved by all in return. A true matriarch, by 1977 all three of her children had made the 1,200-mile trek from Johnstown, PA, and lived within five miles of their mom and dad’s Treasure Island home.
Dorothy is predeceased by her husband of 67 years, Peter Popovich, and her daughter Janis Wagner. She is survived by her son Richard (Paula) Popovich of Old Pasadena, FL, her daughter Susan Martin of Tampa, grandchildren Natalie Popovich, Jennifer Sacino, Vanessa (Tom) Canzoneri, Kevin (Claire) Wagner, Brad Wagner, Candace Sutton and Matthew (Shelbey) Mulnix, and great grandchildren Ryan, Alexander, Olivia, Mia and John.
Loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend, she had a long and joyful life well lived. Donations on Dorothy’s behalf may be made to the Humane Society of Pinellas.
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