Dorothy Rohner

Dorothy Ann Dvorsky Rohner
Oct. 2, 1936 - Oct. 29 2015

Shortly after her 79th birthday, our mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and loving and beloved wife closed the door on the vast vault of memories she would leave us, when she died peacefully in her home. She was born to George and Adelaide (nee Shupitar) Dvorsky in Iowa City, Iowa. She was always very proud of her Czech heritage.
As a girl she loved visiting the farms of her uncles, riding tractors and playing in the tall, Iowa corn. Most of her life she lived in close proximity to the man she eventually married, her next-door neighbor, John Rohner. As she told it, he was so much older than she was (14 years), he didn’t really notice her until she was close to graduating from City High. Soon after her graduation, they married.
She studied at the University of Iowa until they started their family. In 1962 John and Dorothy moved to Boulder with their growing family.
Dorothy’s caring hospitality and gentle kindness touched the lives of countless long- and short-term visitors to the Rohner Sunshine Canyon home including exchange students, friends of her children, and homesick university students of her husband.
Her creative spirit infused every aspect of her life, as she introduced her seven children to the things she loved - painting, print making, sculpting, writing, story telling, music and her Catholic faith. Her beautiful voice filled the house most days, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus choir years ago.
All the while she found time to undertake a career as a bronze sculptor of birds and people. Her work was shown in galleries in Paris and New York. Her one-woman show at a prestigious gallery in Denver sold every piece.
With her children raised, Dorothy returned to school, this time at the University of Colorado. She earned a BA, MA and then, at the age of 57 in 1993, a PhD in Classics (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). She joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina, Asheville, in 1996 as a professor in the departments of Art and Classics. During her time at UNCA she organized the Classics department's first Study Abroad trips, offering undergraduates the rare opportunity to work on archaeological digs in Greece, Turkey and Tuscany.
The subjects she taught included Greek language and culture, renaissance art, women in antiquity, archaeology, the Roman Empire and Republic, and ancient ceramics. Her scholarship was impeccable. A lasting mark on the UNCA campus arose from her Ancient Gardens course; she inspired faculty, students and staff to collaborate on creating an ancient garden, complete with plants of the ancient world, a sundial and student-made mosaics.
She and John, moved back to Boulder in 2012, finally settling at The Carillon. She loved the community there, made many new friends, and took full advantage of its many offerings including joining the art group and once again picking up her sketch pad. In August, she and John renewed their vows at a celebration of their 60th anniversary.
Throughout her life she drew inspiration from the natural world and her many abiding friendships and deep relationships with her fellow humans. She stayed curious and interested to the end.
She is survived by her husband, John, her seven children Gina Elliott (Dave), Hans (Mary Jo Brodzik), Lisa Schafer (Bill), Filomena Kaehler (Ralph), Dorothia (Homer Caton), Tristana Rogers (Mark) and Magdalena Acuña (Dave), fourteen grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and sister-in-law Nancy Dvorsky (Daniel). She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Adelaide, her brother Daniel Dvorsky and poor Cousin Cynthia.