Dorothy Virginia (Parker) Keppler

KEPPLER, Dorothy Virginia (Parker), 91, born Feb. 25, 1930, in Bunnell, FL, died May

13, 2021, in Fairview, NC. Dorothy grew up in Florida, the second of three children of Carl Parker and Ida (Mosby) Parker. While attending Southern Missionary College, Dorothy met C. Burton (Burt) Keppler, and they married on Aug. 17, 1950. Dorothy graduated in 1951 from Florida Sanitarium and Hospital School of Nursing, then worked as a nurse to support Burt while he finished his nursing degree. The couple welcomed a daughter, Brenda, on Oct. 24, 1952, and Susan on Jan. 5, 1954. In 1955, they moved to Bolivia and worked as medical missionaries. Dorothy was often pressed into physician roles when nobody else was available. She frequently administered anesthesia and performed countless deliveries, including many classified as high-risk, in facilities that ranged from clinics to dirt-floored huts. In 1959, the

family returned to the United States. Dorothy supported the family until Burt received his medical degree from Loma Linda University. They moved to Greenville, SC, where Burt

opened a medical practice. Dorothy served as administrator, accountant, nurse and receptionist. On June 29, 1968, they had another daughter, Karen, and on Dec. 9, 1969, their

fourth and final child, Benjamin, was born. In 1984, the family moved to Western North Carolina where Burt founded Park Ridge Anesthesiology. Dorothy and Burt again served on multiple short-term medical missionary assignments in diverse locations such as Mexico, Panama, Thailand, the Solomon Islands and Guam.