Dorothy "Dottie" Virgene Berzins

Known as Jeanne to her family and Dottie to her friends, Dorothy was born on November 14, 1944, to Bruce and Virgene (Jones) Wright. She loved her family, MSU basketball, and her cats.

Dottie graduated from Bloomfield Hills High School in 1962 and went on to attend Michigan State University. Before completing her degree, she married and became a stay-at-home mom. Later in life, she returned to MSU, where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education. She taught for 24 years in Grand Ledge Public Schools. After a year of retirement, she began a second career as a special education field instructor at Michigan State University, where she served for another 18 years.

In her youth, Dottie was an organist, and later in life she sang in her church choirs. Volunteering and helping others were central to her life, especially causes related to animals. She enjoyed travel, took many trips with her grandchildren, and loved camping with family and friends. Dottie was also very socially active in the community at her apartment complex. She was an avid MSU sports fan, holding football season tickets for several seasons, though her true passion was Spartan basketball. Go Green!!

Dottie is survived by her children, Julie (Jay) Knapp, and David (Sunca) Berzins; her grandchildren, Jonathon, and Kristina Berzins; her siblings, William (Sue) Wright, Kathy Wright, and Doug (Janet) Wright; as well as many loving extended family members and a host of dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Butch Wright.

A celebration of life will be held later this summer.

In her memory, we are asking for donations to Saved by Zade, https://tinyurl.com/IMODorothyBerzins