Dottie Sprinkle

Freida “Dottie” Sprinkle, 84, of Indianapolis, passed peacefully on to her next stop on August 26, 2026, surrounded by family.

She was a woman whose faith was expressed not simply in what she believed, but in what she did.

Earlier in life, she served in children’s Sunday School, as a volunteer teacher’s aide, and in the church preschool, focusing on the next generation. She also got involved in mentoring kids in juvenile detention facilities. Later, she worked with the food pantry, helping care for people when they needed a hand. Then finally, when it was time to go to assisted living, she continued to serve. She spent time reading and sharing music with residents in memory care and started a movie gathering—small acts, perhaps, but exactly the sort of small acts that make up a life invested in caring for other people.

She knew you could spend time reading a book…or invest time in helping someone learn to read. You could eat lunch after church…or help distribute food to the needy. You could waste an evening with a movie by yourself…or pull someone out of loneliness by creating space in your life for theirs.

And if you knew her, you undoubtedly feel like you were close to her. Her approach to life was that she had friends and future friends. Some may remember her sense of humor, her generosity, or her having the “gift of gab,” but everyone remembers that for her, there was active faith, hope and love, and the greatest was love. She spoke about heaven not as an idea, but as a destination, up to her last day, when she clearly told a nurse who was disturbing her sleep with a procedure, “I’m going to heaven!”

She is survived by children Greg (Lori), Karen (Pat), Dave (Dani), and George (Teresa), seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and her siblings Jackie and Keith.

She was preceded in death by her parents Fred and Ollie, her husband Cecil, her son Rob, three grandchildren, and her brothers Dave and Jesse.

A visitation will be at Fleming Garden Christian Church (530 S. Taft, Indianapolis) on Saturday, September 5 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

A memorial service to celebrate Dottie's life will follow at 1:30 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Fleming Garden Food Pantry (bring a can or box with you, or monetary donations accepted).

She invested a great deal of her life caring for people at different stages of theirs…the young, the hungry, the aging, and the lonely. She’s now on to the next stage of hers, and she knew where she was going.

It is well.