A Tribute
by Rozella Bower
In a lovely service on Saturday morning, May 4, we said our farewells to Dorothy Shockey, the last charter member of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church. Most of us have heard the story of Pastor Ralph and Dorothy Shockey and the significant role they played in the creation of this church-how they came to Moorestown in 1947 where he assumed the job of Superintendent of the newly formed Lutheran Home in a “castle” on Main Street that had been purchased from the estate of the founder of the Victor Talking Machine Co. The Shockeys had grown up on farms in western Pennsylvania and attended the same Lutheran church. Dorothy later attended the Lutheran Deaconess School in Baltimore and they were married when he completed his seminary education. They had two young children, Ann and David, when they moved to Moorestown and a third child, Bonnie, was born after they moved here.
It was my pleasure to interview the Shockeys in their Church Street home in August 1999 for a Messenger article as we began the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Saint Matthew Church. I heard again their story in a very personal way. Because her husband took their one car each Sunday to preach somewhere in the state and talk about the Lutheran Home, Dorothy had to stand on the street comer to take the bus with her two children, either to Mount Holly or Maple Shade for the closest Lutheran church. That became quite difficult in the winter and Dorothy was determined to do something about it. She, with the help of a Lutheran woman she had met who was a teacher and had three children, began a Sunday school in the Lutheran Home. It soon outgrew its space and had to move to the Community House where they paid $25 for an hour on Sundays. From there, Saint Matthew Church was organized and chartered in April 1950-and, of course, the rest is history. Dorothy was one of the speakers at our grand 60th Anniversary Celebration at the Community House in 2010.
Dorothy was very involved with the church. She organized the Women’s Missionary Society, helped to start the Altar Guild, and taught the first adult Sunday school class. In addition, she became very active in the community where she helped begin the Moorestown Historical Society. Pastor Shockey joined the Rotary Club, and served as president. Dorothy accompanied him on Rotary sponsored trips and events. She helped begin the Moorestown Chapter of the United Council of Church Women, now known as Church Women United, and had received their Valiant Woman Award. She was a founding member of the Lutheran Home Auxiliary and received the Life Achievement Award from that organization. She was also an avid Phillies fan.
She was an excellent cook and enjoyed several hobbies, which included gardening, raising African violets, sewing and candle making. She made the first Paschal candle for the new sanctuary in 1972. In our archives there is a picture of her with the candle, Pastor Herluf Jensen and the man who made the candle stand. (I purchased a beautiful Madonna candle she made for our church bazaar many years ago, and still proudly display it every Christmas.) She continued to play bridge until breaking her hip shortly before she died at the age of 95; she would have been 96 on June 1.
Dorothy always maintained an active interest in Saint Matthew Church and had many friends in the congregation. She was a remarkable woman of faith which helped to sustain her through the deaths of her husband and her three children. She is survived by three grandchildren and their families who lovingly helped her in many ways to be able to stay in her home, which was so important to her.
The congregation of Saint Matthew has much to be thankful for in the life and contributions of Dorothy Shockey. We have lost a devoted member and friend, and we will miss her.