Doris Helms Herlocker

Doris Helms Herlocker (Dottie) passed away Thursday, May 1 at Penn Nursing Center in Reidsville.

Dottie was born in the Enochville community, near Kannapolis, North Carolina on July 20, 1929 to Joseph Thomas and Arey Helms. Prior to making motherhood her full-time career, she worked in the chemistry lab at Cannon Mills and as a dental assistant and, as an empty nester, she worked parttime in registration at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Shortly after marrying Cyril Herlocker, the Korean War broke out and he enlisted, forever changing the course of their lives.

Dottie, who’d never traveled further than the Blue Ridge Mountains and the North Carolina and South Carolina coasts, was thrust into the role of an officer’s wife and traveled the world, moving from post to post, always adapting to whatever assignment came next. She endured hardship tours when her husband was in Korea and Vietnam, maintaining normalcy for her children and discovering a true talent at managing the household finances. Even in her 90s, she’d open the newspaper to the stock market page every day.

Always at home at a sewing machine, Dottie could whip up a gown to wear to a military ball, stitch lovely dresses for her daughter or sew Boy Scout badges onto her son’s sash all the while encouraging him to stick with it until she could proudly pin the Eagle Scout award on his uniform.

A woman of many talents, Dottie enjoyed playing bridge, working jigsaw puzzles, reading, volunteering at the community hospital, gardening and was her husband’s sidekick when he was fishing. At their retirement home on Lake Tillery in Norwood, NC, she was never squeamish about digging for worms, baiting her grandchildren’s hooks and getting wriggling creatures off the line. And, yes -- she’d fry the day’s catch for all to savor. Dottie was a wonderful cook and her New Jersey family always looked forward to the pound cake she’d baked and the meal she had waiting after their 10-hour drive to visit.

Dottie loved the years she and Cyril spent at Lake Tillery, a place where they had often camped in the early years of their marriage. Their home became a family destination where skiing, fishing and driving the boats was a favorite for her grandchildren.

Dottie is survived by her son Tim Herlocker and his wife, Jennifer Dengel of Cranford, New Jersey, and granddaughter, Victoria Herlocker of New York City. She is also survived by her daughter Myla Barnhardt of Eden, North Carolina and grandchildren Amanda Barnhardt of Raleigh, and Ross Barnhardt and his wife, Devon, of Wendell, North Carolina. Dottie eagerly anticipated becoming a great grandmother to Elizabeth Barnhardt whose birth is just weeks away. She is also survived by her sister, Ida (Boots) Newton of Kannapolis, North Carolina.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Col. Cyril Herlocker (RET), her parents, sister Leona Helms, brothers Jimmy and Bud Helms and her son-in-law, Calvin Barnhardt.

A graveside memorial service will be held in the summer when Dottie will be laid to rest with her husband in the Salisbury National Cemetery.