Dorothy W. (Wilson) Hergesheimer

It is with great sadness that the family of Dorothy Wilson (Provost) Hergesheimer, 103, announce her passing peacefully at home in Greenfield, MA on April 13, 2019 with her daughter by her side.

Dorothy was born February 8, 1916 in St Petersburg, FL to Joe Tobin and Mary Maude (Wilson) Provost, the youngest of their 3 daughters. She told many stories of an idyllic childhood growing up on an orange grove until the age of 9 when she and her sisters fell ill from typhoid fever, which also took the life of their mother. This was a defining event in Dorothy’s life, which led her to become a very nurturing and loving individual.  For the next 5 years, Dorothy lived in two Catholic boarding schools, before spending a year in Kansas with her maternal grandmother.  She returned to St. Petersburg to complete 12th grade, and went on to attend St Petersburg Community College.  She married her first husband, George A Wilson in 1936, and they had 5 children. Dorothy loved working in their Nursery business, and she had a lifelong love of flowers and gardening. That marriage ended in divorce, and Dorothy married her second husband, Edwin S (Steve) Hergesheimer in 1951.  They moved to Baltimore, MD to be nearer to her sister Marjorie.  Dorothy was a homemaker while her children were in school, later working at several local businesses. She lived in Baltimore until Steve’s death in 1978. Dorothy then moved to Somerville, MA where her daughter lived, for about 2 years, before deciding to move to a cottage on Chincoteague Island, VA that Steve had built in the 1960s. Her sister Marjorie was also widowed, and Dorothy said that one of the best periods of her life was spending 26 years traveling throughout the country and overseas with her sister. In the early 1990s Dorothy and Marjorie moved back to the land on which they were born, that had been converted to a mobile home park, after that property was returned to them.  Family was very important to the sisters, and they initiated bi-annual family reunions, bringing cousins together from all over the country.  During a reunion on the Outer Banks, at the age of 94, Dorothy bravely went hang gliding with a group of younger family members, and remarked “this could become addicting!”  Dorothy relocated to Greenfield, MA in 2011, several years after her sister Marjorie passed away, to be near her daughter and two grandchildren.  

Dorothy was a kind, loving, and generous woman who took great pride in her family. She inspired everyone she met, and never hesitated to give advice or lend a hand to someone in need.

Dorothy was greatly loved and will be missed by her large extended family and friends.  She leaves her daughter, Marjorie W. Ferrini, her sons Stanley M. Wilson (Leah), William J. Wilson (Jane) and J. Timothy Wilson (Kathy), 7 grandchildren, Christine Brinton (Will), Marjorie Moen (Chris), Michael Wilson (Denisio Truitt), Misha Ferrini, Shanti Ferrini, Justin Wilson and Susan Wilson (Steve Kelch), 3 great grandchildren, William Brinton, William Moen and Avivah Moen, and many nieces and nephews.  Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her son George A Wilson, Jr in 1964, her sisters Harriet Ross and Marjorie Morea, her first husband George A Wilson, her second husband Steve Hergesheimer, and several nephews.        

The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the caregivers who helped her these past few years, namely Tina M, Cheryl K. Terry S, Denise A, Jackie B, and the wonderful staff of the Franklin County Hospice Program.

Arrangements for a memorial service will be made by the family at a later date.  Dorothy had previously requested that any memorial donations be sent to The Dakin Animal Shelter or animal advocacy organization of your choice.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dorothy W. (Wilson) Hergesheimer, please visit our floral store.