Obituary of Dolores C. Cords

CORDS, DOLORES C. "DEE" Dolores Clara (Schreiner) Cords, 86, of Fort Myers, FL (formerly of Kenosha, WI) entered eternal life on January 23, 2014. She was born on April 26, 1927 in Plain, Wisconsin to Fredrick and Clara Schreiner. She is survived by her children, Dr. Kathy (Paul) Hartke, Barbara (David) Schoenleber, Dr. Alan Cords (Carlos Melendez), and Pastor Paul (Jay) Cords. She will be dearly missed by grandchildren, Katy, Emily, Thomas, Anthony, Theodore, Alyssa, Katelyn, Cori and Philip and great grandchildren Harrison, William and Parker. She was "Grandma Dee" to Justin (Rita), Kira, Colin and Maisie Hartke. She is also survived by one brother, Gerald Schreiner in Tucson, AZ. Dee was a graduate of St. Luke Catholic School in Plain, WI. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Technology from the College of St. Theresa in Winona, MN in 1948. She later earned a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin. While working at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque, IA, she met her husband, Arthur F. Cords and married on March 31, 1951. He preceded her in death on April 27, 1978. They moved their family to Kenosha, WI in 1960. She taught at Gateway Technical Institute for 31 years, educating many medical assistants, nurses and surgical assistants. While in Kenosha, she was active in the Auxiliaries of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Junker-Ball Post 1865, Disabled American Veterans, and Purple Heart. She helped coordinate the National Chaplain's Day every Memorial Day weekend. She supported her four children's music with the Kenosha Band Boosters as President, chaperone and uniform chairwoman. She devoted her life to helping her family and others. She donated more than 10 gallons of blood in her lifetime to save others, delivered flowers to shut-ins, and volunteered for her various churches raising money for missions and youth groups and cooking many spaghetti dinners. Dee loved adventures and traveled to all 50 states and 37 countries including a trip to the Holy Land in 2012 where she rode a camel up Mount Sinai. She was an avid birdwatcher and a member of the National Audubon Society. After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she and her four children took a sunset hot air balloon ride, one of her remaining "bucket list" wishes. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church, 8260 Cypress Lake Drive, on Saturday February 1, 2014 at 1:00 pm. A graveside burial service will be held at Sunset Ridge Cemetery in Kenosha, WI on Saturday July 5, 2014. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dee's memory to the Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church Mission Fund.