Skip to main content

Gross, Dorothy Bercu, 1917-2015

 Person

Biography

Naomi Dorothea (Dorothy) Bercu was born June 14, 1917 in Douglas, Wyoming. Her father George Bercu owned the Chicago Hide, Fur and Wool Company in Douglas and in Denver. He married Olive Mistachkin and the couple became parents of Dorothy (1917-2015), Harryette (1918), Robert (1919), Bernard (1921), and Berverly (1935). From 1925-1928, Dorothy and Harryette danced on the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit around the west. They were later joined by Bob and Bernard and the whole troupe performed from New York City to Juarez, Mexico. The sisters also danced from 1936 to 1939. Dorothy attended the University of Utah in Ogden, Utah beginning in 1930 at the age of sixteen. She started a theatrical booking agency in Salt Lake City and taught dancing. Dorothy married Norman Gross in 1941 after he had signed up for her dance class. They raised three children, Valerie (Schreiber), Gary, and Dennis in Dallas, Texas. She also taught fitness classes. She died in Dallas in 2015.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Box 24, 1940-1997

 File — Box B356.0024: Series B356.04 [Barcode: U186023251492]
Identifier: B356.04.0024
Abstract

The newspaper articles, photographs, objects and LP records illustrate the life of a Jewish family in the western United States. Some of the material is about Dorothy Bercu Gross who had been a Vaudville dancer and then was a fitness instructor. Her husband was a physician.

Dates: 1940-1997