Dorothy Lee Baumgardner

Dorothy Lee Baumgardner, 91, of Nederland peacefully passed away on Monday, November 21, 2022 at her home surrounded by family. She was born on August 1, 1931 to her parents John and Evelyn Breaux Angelle in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

Dorothy was raised in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana until the age of 14 when she moved to Port Arthur, Texas. One of her proudest, and earliest, accomplishments was teaching herself how to speak English after only speaking Cajun French for 14 years. She liked to joke that she learned English by “stick” meaning the nun’s ruler. Graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School at 16 years old, she was very driven and had a true passion for learning new things. “People can steal everything you have in this world except for your knowledge so, keep your nose clean and to the grindstone,” is what Dorothy would tell her grandchildren each time she saw them.

At the age of 42, after having three children, Dorothy went back to school for a nursing degree at Lamar University in Port Arthur, Texas. She graduated two years later achieving a 4.0 in the LVN program. Shortly upon graduation, Dorothy went to work at St. Mary Hospital as a nurse on the cardiac floor. In her 25 years at the hospital, she earned “Employee of the Year” in 1995 and recognition in the American Journal of Medicine for her specific wound care procedure.

Dorothy is preceded in death by her parents, husband, PAFD Battalion Chief James Baumgardner, and daughters Carol Ann Baumgardner and Barbara Baumgardner Fields. She is survived by her son, John Baumgardner and his wife Vickie of Nederland, her grandchildren Taylor Baumgardner, Brandon Baumgardner his wife Candace Baumgardner, Jeremy Snell and his wife Nickie Pinkston and her son, Evan Pinkston, Rachel Snell. She is also survived by her sister Betty Legnon and her husband Chris of Port Arthur, Texas, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM followed by a service to honor Dorothy’s life at Clayton Thompson Funeral Home in Groves, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Helen Catholic Church in Orangefield, Texas.