Dorothea (Dottie) Virginia (Joyce) Wilbur

Dorothea (Dottie) Virginia Joyce Wilbur of Charlotte, NC passed away peacefully on May 30, 2023 at the Pavilion at Brightmore.  At 100, she was a beautiful, strong, generous, kind and independent woman who was dedicated to her Catholic faith, valued family above all else, loved to sing Broadway tunes, gardened, read mysteries and worked complex puzzles.  She was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother.

Dorothea was born in New York, NY and welcomed into her Irish/Romanian Catholic family on December 25, 1922 by her mother, Josephine Jelinek, her father, James Joyce and six older brothers.  Later, four more brothers and a sister made the family complete.

She survived losing her mother, Josephine, when Dottie was only 9 years old.  She then became “the little mother” to her four younger brothers.  A neighbor helped with her infant sister.

She excelled in school and enjoyed playing hopscotch and stick ball with her brothers on the streets of Manhattan.  She was a child of the Great Depression and a young adult during WWII.

She loved to dance and aspired to become a professional singer, entertaining in night clubs around New York City during the 1940s.  It was while she worked in an ice cream factory that she met a handsome, aspiring actor, John Wilbur (deceased 2005), and they fell in love.  He had served in the Marine Corps. during WWII and re-enlisted for the Korean Conflict.  They married on November 11, 1950 at the Camp Lejuene Marine Corps. base.  They were married 55 years and together raised 6 children; James D. Wilbur (deceased), Pamelazita Buschbacher (Frank), Kenneth Wilbur (deceased), Noel Wilbur (Shelley), Danita Geyer (Dayne) and John D. Wilbur, Jr (Jean).  They helped to raise two of their grandchildren; Jamie Olander (Steve) and Damian Wilbur (Alexa).

Even when times were tough, she managed to make every holiday a very special family event with decorations, delicious food, games, singing and laughter.

During her married life, the family lived in NC, IL, CA, NM, AZ, NYC, TX and OH.  She enjoyed the adventure of living in different states.

In the 1970s, she and John opened a woodcarving shop called Carvers’ Corner in Cincinnati, OH.  While her husband did most of the carving, she kept the books and taught carving lessons.  They often traveled to festivals and fairs selling their carvings.

In the 1990s, she and John moved to Bremerton, WA to live near their daughter, Danita, and her husband, Dayne, and their grand-daughter, Jamie Olander (Steve) and family.  She loved visiting gardens and the zoo there, having cookouts, selling their carvings at fairs and attending mass.

In 2010, Dottie, moved to Florida to live near her daughter, Pamelazita (Frank) and her son, John (Jean) and their families where she enjoyed visiting gardens, going to Disney World, attending mass, taking craft classes and vacationing at resorts.

In 2020, she joined her daughter, Pamelazita and her husband to live in Charlotte, NC and made it unscathed through the pandemic.  She was well cared for her final years by her children.

She is preceded in death by her parents, nine of brothers, her sister and two of her children.

Shortly before she passed away, she looked heavenward, raised her hands high and said softly, “Mama” being guided to her eternal reward by her earthly mother, Josephine, and/or our Blessed Mother Mary.  Her daughter, Pamelazita, was by her side and holding her hand as she passed away.

Funeral Mass

Friday, August 4, 2023

2:00 PM

St. Philip Neri Catholic Church

292 Munn Rd.

Fort Mill, SC 29715

Donations

We are grateful for the tremendous amount of support our mother and we received for more than three years from VIA Health Partners (formerly Hospice & Palliative Care of Charlotte).  In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made to:

VIA Health Partners (Hospice & Palliative Care – Charlotte Region)

P.O. Box 470408

Charlotte, NC 28247

Website: www.viahp.org