Dorothy G. Friend

Hastings resident, Dorothy G. Friend, 84, passed away Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at Perkins Pavilion Good Samaritan Society-Hastings Village, Hastings, Nebraska.

Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be Saturday, January 28, 2023; 2 P.M. at Evangelical Free Church, Hastings with Pastor Scott DeWitt officiating. Private family burial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Hastings Evangelical Free Church or Hastings YMCA. The service will be live-streamed on Evangelical Free Church’s YouTube page. To view the service, click on the following link: https://bit.ly/dorothyfriend.

Dorothy was born September 14, 1938, in Omaha to Herbert R. & Irene (Fogarty) Grace She graduated from Hastings High School in 1956. She then attended Hastings College, graduating in 1959. She worked as a defense computer programmer for System Development Corp. During the Cuban Missile Crisis she took an assignment at Gunter Air Force Base and worked to modify the SAGE air defense program in the event nuclear war broke out.

On July 18, 1964, Dorothy married John Aspen. In 1970, they bought Grace’s Bike and Key from her father. They divorced in 1972. In 1975, Dorothy married Rocky Friend. Together they operated Grace’s Locksmith Service in Hastings. In 1989 they sold the business and moved to Salem, Virginia where she worked for Medeco Security Lock Company. They moved back to Hastings in 1994. Dorothy then operated Locksoft, a software company for locksmiths.

Dorothy was a member of Hastings Evangelical Free Church. She was a former member of the Nebraska Locksmiths Association, Associated Locksmiths of America, Great Plains Locksmiths Association, and MINK.  She was a key contributor for Keynotes Magazine and served on the editorial advisory committee. Dorothy was the founder of the MS Support group in Hastings.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Rocky; brother, Herbert Grace; sister, Margaret Westrope; and step-son, Randy Friend.

SURVIVORS:
Sons:                                      
    Roger (Judy) Aspen - Hastings, NE

    Charles Aspen – Hastings, NE

Grandchildren:                        
    Blake Aspen - Lincoln, NE

    Brooke Aspen - Lincoln, NE

Sister:                                     
    Helen (Larry) Thomas – Colorado Springs, CO

Sister-in-law:                          
    Ione Friend – Bloomfield, IA

Step-Children:                         
    Nancy Goin

    Phyllis Masopust

    Deborah Schultz
    Gary Friend

Many step-grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews