Dorothy Lee (Sorensen) Heckman, 84, died peacefully early in the morning of December 29th, 2016, at the Good Samaritan Society in Wood River, NE. She was with her daughter Libby when she passed, and was in the loving company of her devoted husband, family, and wonderful caretakers much of the previous day.

Funeral services will be at the Cairo United Methodist Church at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3rd, with Pastor Catherine Love officiating. Burial will be at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery immediately following the service. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 2nd at the church.

Memorial contributions to the Cairo United Methodist Church in Dorothy's name would be gratefully accepted. Online condolences can be sent to www.livson.com. Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements.

Dorothy was born to Helen (Hulett) and Wesley Sorensen in Grand Island, NE, on October 8th, 1932. She and her sister, Ruth, grew up in Cairo, where their great-grandfather had homesteaded two miles south of town in 1874. Her father worked for the State Bank of Cairo, now Pathway Bank, from 1925 until his death in 1961.

Dorothy graduated from Cairo High School in 1949, attended Doane College, and was then encouraged to further her education. She received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and worked as a social worker for the Alameda County Tuberculosis Association in Oakland, CA, and the Douglas County Assistance Bureau in Omaha, NE. After moving back to Omaha, she was a ballroom dance instructor for the Arthur Murray Studio and in later years was known to twirl around her kitchen while cooking, singing show tunes.

Dorothy was working for the Nebraska Children's Home Society in Omaha, placing babies for adoption and delivering them to their new homes around the state, when she met and married the love of her life, Richard (Dick) Heckman in 1965. They started a family - Libby was born in 1967 and John in 1970 - and in early 1971 they moved back to Cairo where Dick began work at the bank. Dorothy, with perfect pitch and a beautiful alto soprano voice, returned to singing in the choir at the United Methodist Church, where she first sang at the age of 14. She worked as secretary to the Superintendent of the South Central District Office of the Methodist Church, as an assistant at the bank, and was a Methodist Youth Fellowship leader and second mom to many. In the 1990s, she volunteered to take on the responsibility of Volunteer Coordinator for Hospice at St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island. She cared deeply for the program, and devoted many years and countless hours to education and training.

Dorothy was a member of Eastern Star, Chapter EH of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, and the United Methodist Women. She also served many years on the Centura Board of Education and the board of the Nature Conservancy. Her faith and constant search for spiritual growth, her love and support for her family and community, her fierce intelligence, and her unshakable belief in the goodness of humanity were inspirational to all who knew her.

She is survived by her husband, Dick; sister Ruth (Robert) Larson; children Libby (Scott) Tipping and John (Tricia) Heckman; grandchildren Amelia, Callie and Turner; nieces Seanne (Tom) Emerton and Mary (Paco) Diaz, and their spouses, children and grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents and brother-in-law, Robert Larson.