Dorothy Link

Dorothy Bonita Cole Link, age 102, passed away Saturday, November 14, 2020, at The Pines Nursing Facility in Kirksville, MO.

Dorothy was born July 16, 1918 near Yarrow, MO. Her parents were Earl and Bulah Cole. Education was so important to the Cole’s that they sent their 13 year old daughter, Dorothy, to live in Kirksville as a boarder so that she could go to and graduate from high school.  She lived in Kirksville the rest of her life.  She worked many years on the square in a beauty shop, a candy store and a china shop.  Soon after she graduated from high school she met Carl Edward Link, an apprentice/owner at his father’s business, The Journal Printing Company.  They married in the fall of 1941 just before Carl shipped off to war with Company K to the Aluetian Islands near Alaska.  The two did not see each other again for nearly three years but after the war, they were rarely apart again, enjoying 55 years of marriage before Carl’s death in 2006.

On June 10, 1950, they welcomed their first child, Michael Link and on March 31, 1958, their second son Brian Edward Link was born.  Dorothy loved being a homemaker and mother. She was an excellent cook, a talented seamstress, played the piano and organ and when Carl taught her to play golf, she became an exceptional golfer.  She enjoyed all of her time at the Kirksville Country Club where she achieved four hole-in-one awards and was club champion among the women golfers.  After her father was killed on their farm in 1963, Dorothy helped her mother Bulah move into town in Kirksville and stayed close to her until her death.  Dorothy had many good friends in the area and especially enjoyed her local sister-in-laws, Elizabeth and Thelma Link.  She took her family to the local Presbyterian church where they were members for many years.  She and Carl also enjoyed crossword puzzles and worked at least one every day.  Tragically, their oldest son Michael died young in an auto accident in 1977.  Carl and Dorothy were very proud to see their other son Brian finish high school, college and dental school.  They celebrated his marriage to Melody Boessen in 1980 and they thoroughly loved and enjoyed their two grandchildren, Michael and Elizabeth. Dr. Michael Link and his wife Meg, have one child, a one year old son named Hudson Brian Link. Elizabeth gave Dorothy and Carl four great-grand-children, Ezekiel Michael, Josalyn Lily, Lincoln John and Owen Brian, ages 6 to 15.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, her only sibling, Margaret Burbank, her husband Carl, her son Michael, and many brother and sister-in-laws, aunts, uncles and cousins.  She is survived by her son Brian and his wife of 40 years, Melody Link, her grandson Michael, grand-daughter-in-law Meghan, grand-daughter Elizabeth and five great-grandchildren.  She also enjoyed and is survived by many nieces and nephews and their children.  Dorothy’s years in Kirksville, especially after Carl died in 2006, were often better for always being included by her niece-in-law, Mary, and the entire Giovannini family in their local gatherings.

Due to Covid19 concerns, the family will have a private ceremony Friday, November 20, 2020 at Davis-Playle-Hudson-Rimer Funeral Home in Kirksville at 11 am, followed by interment next to Carl at Maple Hills Cemetery.

Arrangements in the care of Davis-Playle-Hudson-Rimer Funeral Home; www.davisplaylehudsonrimer.com.