Dorothy Wiersum lived a life drawn to water.

As a young girl she and her siblings and friends lived near the pump station situated at the end of her street in Chicago, spending hours at the pool nearby.

She joined the Kenosha Youth Foundation as a young adult and enjoyed swimming at the pool there with her friends.

She water skied every season until her strength gave out and rode water scooters through the summer of 2008.

Even her art reflected her aquatic life: fish dominated her artwork.

“She loved to swim and dive. She was an excellent diver,” her husband Gene said.

Dorothy C. Wiersum, 80, died Feb. 6, leaving her husband Gene; children Roxane and Todd; siblings Christian Nicholas, William and Judy; five grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

Large family

She was born into the large Christian and Elizabeth Beezhold family of 10 children.

Gene and Dorothy met through a family friend in 1948 and were married four years later.

Family members say her faith was a consistent force in her life, and she was a member of the Christian Reformed Church in Kenosha.

A woman with a compassionate soul, she entered the nursing program at Kenosha Technical Institute (Gateway Technical College) when her children were adolescents. It was a confidence-building experience.

“She was a strong ‘A’ student in every subject. She loved it,” Gene said.

She worked at St. Catherine’s Hospital, mostly with orthopedic cases, retiring in 1983.

Personal creations

Dorothy had a talent for making beautiful things for her home and family.

She enjoyed gardening and was a member of the Four Seasons Garden Club, earning ribbons for her flower arrangements in competitions. She liked working with oil paint, pastels and clay and was a member of the Kenosha Art Association.

Dorothy was a talented and stylish seamstress, making her children’s clothing, her nursing uniforms and even household curtains. She made her own wedding dress and her daughter’s prom dresses.

“People always talked about her uniforms because people wanted to know where she got them; they were so unique,” her daughter Roxane said.

She was always willing to help family members with redecorating, and painted many a room.

Physically active

In addition to water skiing, she learned to downhill ski, and cross-country skied in winter.

She and Gene joined Allemande Square Dance Club and learned to square dance, eventually teaching others to dance. It was an activity that was perfect for her vivaciousness and her talents as a seamstress.

After retirement, the couple traveled across the country in their Airstream for many years and spent 20 years wintering in Florida.

Dorothy discovered a love of golf and was very competitive in the sport. She was a consistent low-putt golfer, with more than her share of birdies at Maplecrest and Bristol Oaks.

“She’d work until midnight or 1 o’clock at the hospital, be up at 6 and on the course at 7,” Gene said. “And that wasn’t once; that was year after year.”

She would badger her adult grandchildren to golf with her and relished every opportunity. Anyone who would play, she’d drop everything to go out onto the course.

Last summer she golfed in two leagues in addition to golfing with family members.

Dorothy was a seasoned European traveler and even after she finished chemotherapy treatments for cancer in July 1998, she was ready for a trip to France with Roxane by August.

“She wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep up with us, but we couldn’t keep up with her,” Roxane said.