Dorothy Helen Cavender

Mrs. Dorothy Helen (nee Quinn) Cavender of Raritan Township, NJ, died at home on April 25, 2008 after a year of declining health. She was 84.

Mrs. Cavender was born on Sept. 12, 1923 in Harrisburg, IL to George R. Quinn, a coal miner, and Minnie Walker Quinn (nee Hudson), a homemaker and nursing assistant. She was their second child.

After graduation from high school, she worked at Parker’s, a family-owned furniture store in Harrisburg. Dorothy married Druie E. Cavender, Jr. in March of 1944. The couple then moved to South Bend, IN where Mr. Cavender attended law school at the University of Notre Dame. Following his graduation, the couple moved back to Harrisburg. Mrs. Cavender returned to Parker’s as a bookkeeper while Mr. Cavender joined his father’s law firm. Their first child, Johanna, was born there in 1946.

The family moved to Terre Haute, IN in 1953 when Mr. Cavender took a position in the legal department of Marathon Oil Co. Their second child, Druie E. Cavender, III, was born there in 1954. In 1962, the family moved to Findlay, OH when Marathon transferred Mr. Cavender to their home office. In Findlay, Mrs. Cavender bowled in several leagues and also enjoyed bridge, tennis, crafts, and playing the piano. She worked at Thomas Jewelers as a bookkeeper from 1966 to 1978, when the couple both retired. After retirement, they moved to Osage Beach, MO. Their family had vacationed in that area at the Lake of the Ozarks for many years, where Mrs. Cavender had enjoyed boating, water skiing, and playing bridge with her many friends. After several years at the Lake, they briefly lived in Osprey, FL, but soon returned to Osage Beach. Mrs. Cavender loved traveling and took several trips to Europe during those years. In 2001, Mr. and Mrs. Cavender moved to the Flemington area to be near their children’s families.

Surviving are her son, Druie E. Cavender, III, and daughter-in-law, Elaine (nee Pratt) Cavender, as well as her daughter Johanna, all of whom live in Flemington. Dorothy’s older sister, Mildred Geltosky, died several years ago. Her husband, Druie, preceded her in death earlier this year.

Mrs. Cavender was the loving grandmother of eight, and great-grandmother of five. She also leaves to mourn several nieces and nephews, and many friends.

Funeral arrangements and interment were private under the direction of Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information or to send condolences to the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society of the United States at HSUS, Dept. GAIT04, 2100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037.