DOROTHY L. “Dot” KOEPER, age 81,
Of New Bremen, died on Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 4:00 A.M. at the Vancrest in St. Marys. She was born on October 19, 1940 in New Bremen, the only child of the late Leroy J. and Helen I. (Kuest) Schroer. On November 2, 1963 she married John I. Koeper, at St. Paul Church in New Bremen, and he survives at the residence. Also surviving is her son Robert Koeper of Columbus.

Dot was a life-long member of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in New Bremen. She was a 1958 graduate of New Bremen High School. She then went on to further her education at Miami-Jacobs Business College where she studied administrative coursework. Her studies led her to a career in secretarial and clerical work for the former American Budget Co., Schwieterman’s Drug Store, and the former Tranco all of New Bremen before becoming the secretary at St. Paul Church where she would work for 27 years (affectionately known as “the pest”) before her retirement. She was an avid reader and loved to go to various book stores. She and John traveled across the United States and also to Europe and Mexico, but they also took many shopping trips with Robert to Chicago and also made many trips to Cincinnati to watch the Cincinnati Reds. Dot also enjoyed attending many Broadway shows and enjoyed performances at the Encore Theatre in Lima.

Funeral Services will be held on Sunday, December 26, 2021 at 2:00 P.M. at St. Paul United Church of Christ in New Bremen with Rev. Becky Erb Strang and Rev. Katie Jackson officiating. The services will also be live-streamed on the church’s Facebook page. Interment will follow in the German Protestant Cemetery of New Bremen. Friends and family may call prior to the services on Sunday, from 1:00-2:00 P.M., at the church. Memorial contributions in memory of Dot can be made to the St. Paul Church Memorial Fund. The family is being assisted by the Gilberg-Hartwig Funeral Home in New Bremen, and online condolences to the family may be left at www.gilberghartwigfh.com.