Dorothea Genevieve Couch, age 100, of Brookfield, Missouri (formerly of Linneus), passed away Friday, June 17, 2022, at Loch Haven Nursing Center, Macon, MO.
Born on February 23, 1922 in Champaign, IL to Orville and Hattie (Knott) Prater, Dorothea was one of four children, the only daughter. As so many did, she lived the life of a child of the Depression growing up in the city. She held many jobs, including working in a candy factory and, later, in an artillery factory during the war.
Dorothea was united in marriage to Maurice Gerald Couch on November 1, 1945, in Dothan, AL. In 1950, Maurice and Dorothea left their home in Hammond, Indiana, to return to his family farm in Linneus. Farm life was a big change for a city girl, but Dorothea managed. She raised three daughters and stayed on the farm with Maurice until they sold the property in 1985.
The couple moved to Brookfield, where they managed Woodridge Apartments for many years. Over time they downsized, and several years after Maurice’s death on May 4, 2003, Dorothea moved to Bristol Manor in Brookfield and then finally to Loch Haven Senior Living in Macon. Many of the skills needed to survive when
Many of the skills needed to survive when Dorothea first moved to the farm became hobbies. She developed a lifelong love for gardening. On the farm, she tended a huge vegetable garden behind the house, canning and freezing much of what she grew. After she and Maurice moved to town, she still had flowers everywhere she lived and had tomato plants in pots outside her door, which she tended to meticulously.
Dorothea was a skilled seamstress. In addition to working at Stanbury Uniforms for 14 years, she sewed everything from clothing for her family to outfits for Barbie dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids, potholders, plastic bag holders and so much more. Quilting became a hobby later in life and she and Maurice worked on a number of quilts together, giving many of them to her grandchildren to mark celebratory occasions of graduations and weddings and the birth of great grandchildren.
Dorothea appreciated beauty. She prided herself on looking nice and having a well kept home. She enjoyed collecting beautifully painted tea cups, milk glass and other knick knacks.
Dorothea is survived by her daughters Linda Jones (David) of Brookfield and Nina Huber (Kenneth) of New Cambria. She was blessed with five grandchildren: Kristin Davis (Daniel), Jefferson City; Tracy Jones, Tokyo, Japan; Aaron Huber (Amber), Marceline; DeAnn Davison (Christopher), Maryville; and Travis Jones, Brookfield. Dorothea left behind eight great grandchildren: Abigail, Emma, Addison, Owen, Trace, Charlotte, Jax and William.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and three brothers, William Prater, Clarence Prater, and Earl Prater.
Private Funeral Services were held Sunday, June 19th, 2022. Dorothea is buried next to her husband at the Elmwood Cemetery in Linneus.
