Obituary of Dawn Elaine Hermance

Dawn Elaine Welch was born on December 12, 1926 in Jacksonville, Florida.  She was the first and only child of her parents, Edward Welch and Rena Pennell Welch.  She traveled a great deal as a child due to her father’s work commitments and therefore lived in a variety of places including:  Long Island, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; South Bend, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Augusta, Georgia and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  She graduated from Andrew Jackson Senior High School in Jacksonville, Florida on June 1, 1943.  She was only 16 years old.  She worked as a telephone operator until she married William Burton on March 13, 1946. They moved to California where she gave birth to three daughters and two sons.  Following a divorce, Dawn worked in sales at The Broadway until returning to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1972.  There she returned to the career she truly enjoyed, being a telephone operator.

On August 18, 1979, Dawn married Ronald Hermance and moved to Simi Valley, California.  Dawn gladly added Ronald’s three daughters and one son to her family.  Dawn and Ronald were happily married for 31 years until Ronald’s death on August 31, 2010. 

On February 6, 2011, Dawn moved into the Vintage Paseo Apartment Complex in Simi Valley where she spent the next 6 years making friends, playing Pokino and Bingo, and keeping in touch with family and friends all over the country via Facebook.

Dawn went to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, July 8, 2017.  She is survived by her daughter, Rena Clark, her daughter, Robin Hermance, her son, William Burton, her daughter, Mary Nelson, her daughter, Betty Vogel, her daughter and son-in-law, Cathye and Dan Gates, her son and daughter-in-law, Russell and Melody Hermance and her daughter and son-in-law, Jamie and Matthew Dunn.  She was preceded in death by her son, Robert Burton. She leaves behind a legacy of 15 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

Dawn loved God, her family, her friends, nature, music and, of course, elephants.  Memorial donations may be made to The Elephant Sanctuary, PO Box 393, Hohenwald, TN  38462; www.elephants.com or 931-796-6500.