Dorothy Delaine Meyer Travnicek, PhD, 91, recently of Hampton NH, passed away on January 4, 2026. She was born January 3, 1935 in Mitchell SD and raised on a farm near Alpena, South Dakota, the elder daughter of Theodore and Leah (Dietrich) Meyer. She was a Home Economist by profession.
Dorothy graduated as Valedictorian from Alpena High school in 1953 and attended South Dakota State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1957 in Home Economics Education. She taught high school in Highmore, SD for two years before going to Kansas State University, where she earned a Master of Science in Foods and Nutrition in 1961. New degree in hand, she was hired at the University of Alabama, where she taught three semesters before beginning doctoral studies. After earning her PhD in 1965 in Foods and Nutrition from Purdue University, Dr Travnicek became an Associate Professor at Kansas State University, in the Home Economics department. Soon after arriving at K State, she was introduced by mutual friends to Edward A. Travnicek, who was then a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering. They were married 14 months later.
After Edward’s graduation in 1968, they moved and followed his career to Manchester, MO; Wilbraham and Southbridge, MA; Coral Springs, FL; and Ramsey, MN, where they remained after retirement for 21+ years. For the last several years, they have resided at the Cornerstone Senior Living Residence in Hampton, NH.
Along the way, Dr. Travnicek taught at the University of Missouri Extension, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and as a longterm Home Economics substitute at Southbridge High School. While in Southbridge, she was a contributing journalist at the Southbridge Evening News, and for years taught sewing classes. Later she worked as a data editor at VNU-Birch-Scarborough Research in Coral Springs, FL.
In addition to being a loving wife and mother of two children, Dorothy was passionate about home sewing and machine embroidery and shared the fruits of that passion with her family and friends. She was an avid supporter of the Project Linus Program, sewing and donating over 3000 machine-embroidered blankets for children in hospitals and foster care.
She is survived by Edward, her husband of 59 years, daughter Julie Travnicek-Burns, sonin- law James Burns, and grandsons Cole and Jameson Burns of Roopville, GA, daughterin- law Sandy Travnicek, of Hampton, NH, brotherin- law Ivan and sister-inlaw Deani Travnicek of Albuquerque, NM and several nieces and nephews and their families. Her parents, son Andrew, sister Theola Wenzel and a niece preceded her in death.
The family would like to extend sincere thanks to all her wonderful caregivers at Cornerstone Senior Living, Hampton, NH, Benchmark at Rye, NH and Beacon Hospice.
Service arrangements will be announced later. Memorial donations may be made in Dorothy’s name to the College of Education and Human Sciences Excellence Fund, South Dakota State University Foundation, 815 Medary Avenue Box 525, Brookings, SD 57006-9935 or a charity of your choice.