Dorothea Johanna Carman

   Dorothea Johanna Carman passed away peacefully on Friday morning, March 1st, 2019 at home with her husband Dean by her side. He was the love of her life for 58 years.

   Dora was born in Jutphaas, Netherlands on January 3, 1927 to Father, Hendrikus Scholman, and Mother, Johanna van Wijk, and was the eldest daughter and last surviving of eight children. She came of age and decided America was where she wanted to extend her nursing abilities, becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States of American in early 1961. On a ski vacation to June Lake, California, she met Dean and married him a few months later. They were blessed with three daughters: Christa Carman, Colleen Carman, and Cheryl (Carman) Preble.

   Dora spent 26 years living the life of a military wife, raising three daughters and traveling the world following wherever the Air Force sent Dean. They enjoyed tours to the Philippines and Germany, plus several tours throughout the USA. The trials and tribulations of moving frequently and spending months at a time alone to raise her daughters brought her inner strength to the forefront. She never complained and proudly supported Dean through it all. When the youngest daughter was old enough, Dora went back to her nursing career full-time. A few years later when Dean retired from active duty, Dora joined the Air Force as a civilian Registered Nurse at the hospital on Eglin AFB. She left Eglin hospital five years later to work at Healthmark Regional Hospital, which was much closer to the new home she helped Dean build on a beautiful piece of land just south of DeFuniak Springs, FL.

   Dora began her nursing career as a mid-wife and progressed thru many specialties, retiring as an Operating Room Nurse after more than 40 years. She was very proud to be a Registered Nurse and kept her credentials active until recently.

   Dora's love of nursing began at a young age back in the Netherlands during WWII. As a young teenager in Jutphaas, her whole family helped those who came to their home during the war. Dora would tend to the sick or wounded as needed. Her family home was part of the underground safe- house network in Europe that assisted Jewish and others fleeing from the Nazi regime. In her late teens, Dora was recruited by the International Red Cross to be a language translator during the reconstruction of Europe after the war. She was fluent in five languages: Dutch, English, French, German and Latin, with some reading abilities in Greek also.

   In her retirement years, Dora enjoyed traveling by motor coach across the country with Dean, she as the navigator and he as her trusted chauffeur. Her favorite vacation destination was heading north up through Canada and over to Alaska. Their travels always made detours through several of her favorite Amish communities and Dutch towns along the way.

   She would always offer healthy suggestions whenever ailments came around. This trait came in very handy when her family expanded with three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She shared her wealth of medical and natural health knowledge freely, encouraging all of us to eat right, stay healthy, and be happy.

   All who knew her were immediately taken by how bright and engaging she was right up until her final day. She was an exceptionally strong and determined woman who always had an encouraging word and a friendly smile. The heavens gained a fiercely devoted woman to join their legion of Angels. 

   A memorial service will be held Friday, March 8, 2019 in the chapel of Davis-Watkins Funeral Home, 1474 Highway 83 North, DeFuniak Springs, Florida 32433 beginning at 2:00 p.m. with a time of visitation one hour prior.  Please join her family to honor this most wonderful life.