Dorothy Ellen Mattis

Dorothy Ellen (Michael) Mattis, 93, of Oakwood, passed away at 4:54 p.m. Saturday, May 5th, 2012 at her home. Dorothy was born on July 3rd, 1918, in Newtown, Illinois, the daughter of Van and Delia (Allen) Michael. She married Charles Dean Mattis on December 4th, 1941, in St. Louis, Missouri. He preceded her in death on October 5th, 1956. She is survived by three sons- Charles Dean Mattis Jr. of Danville, Michael Eugene (Jill) Mattis of Aurora, Colorado and Martin "Ed" Edward (Analiza) Mattis of Oakwood; seven grandchildren- Toni Gonzalez, Barbra Wombles, Teri Rosenthal, Rebecca Pistolis, Jamie DeVore, Charles "Chip" Mattis, and Amanda Mattis; thirteen great-grandchildren; her beloved cat- Buddie. She is also survived by her lifelong friend- Esther Pricer of Oakwood. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and daughter-in-law- Bernice (Carpenter) Mattis. Dorothy graduated from Oakwood Township High School in 1936. She attended Eastern Illinois State Teachers College from 1936 to 1938, where she obtained her teaching certificate. Later in life she obtained her Bachelor's Degree from Eastern Illinois University. Dorothy started teaching in 1938, at Carr Grade School in Royal, Illinois and taught there until 1941. She took a break from teaching to spend time raising her family. She then became a teacher at Newtown Grade School in 1957 and left after an illness. She came back to Newtown Grade School and taught third grade elementary from 1965 until she retired in 1980. Dorothy was a member of the Hebron Methodist Church in Newtown. She was also active in the Danville Garden Club, DAR, Oakwood Township Historical Society, Illiana Genealogical Society and a Vermilion County Museum patron. She was also a contributing member to the Oakwood Community Education Foundation and an honoree in March of 2010. Dorothy enjoyed working crossword puzzles, cooking, reading, gardening, genealogy and was an avid writer, where she documented the history of her family and wrote a book of short stories about her cat called "Grandma's Buddie". Before retiring she enjoyed taking her three hboys all over the country traveling to different places. A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, May 12th, 2012 at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center, a Life Celebration Home, 3940 North Vermilion Street, Danville, Illinois, with Pastor Matt Filicsky officiating. She will be laid to rest in Sunset Memorial Park. Memorials donations may be made in Dorothy's name to the Alzheimer's Association. Please join Dorothy's family in posting memories, photos or videos on her tribute wall at: www.sunsetfuneralhome.com.