Dorothy Dunham Jorgensen was born on Dec. 16, 1910, and died on Feb. 13, 2015. She was born in Washington, D.C., to Dio and Molly Dunham, joining her sister Ruth, five years her senior. The small family traveled frequently between their home in Neenah, Wisconsin, and the Capitol, where her father worked as a congressional secretary. After graduating from Neenah High School, Sullins Academy, Virginia, and nursing school in D.C, Dorothy joined Neenah’s Visiting Nurse Association, where she specialized in delivering babies at home. Vacations were spent on tramp steamers touring Caribbean and South American countries.
In 1940, Dorothy met her future husband, Bob, a Green Bay dentist new to Neenah. The young couple became engaged on Dec. 7, 1941, a most memorable day, and were married soon after. Three children — Buck, Tim and Laurie — a large springer spaniel and cat joined the couple over the next eight years.
In 1951, Bob was drafted into the Army Dental Corps and the entire Jorgensen family moved to Fort Lewis in Washington state for a two-year stint. Following Bob’s service, the family elected to remain in Washington state, having found a new home in Woodway Park, near Edmonds. Dorothy, Bob and family loved camping in eastern Washington and in the 1960s purchased Canyon Creek Ranch, an old homestead/apple orchard south of Twisp in the Methow Valley. They spent much of their remaining years together remodeling a cabin, working on their apple trees and traveling back and forth from Edmonds. Bob died in 1976 but Dorothy was easily recognized about town, Twisp or Edmonds, driving her old Mercedes filled with four large golden retrievers.
Dorothy remained a vital and energetic Woodway-Edmonds resident for the remainder of her 104 years, making many friends and advising her family on whatever she deemed important, which was most everything. She shared her many opinions with anyone who would listen, providing all of us with a wonderfully colorful portrait of how life was long ago as well as how things should be today. Much of her sage advice on raising children and grandchildren actually works, though outlawing all cell phones might not be practical.
After 104 years, Dorothy died peacefully at home of old age, predeceased by her parents, husband, Bob, son Timothy and many of her friends. She is survived and sorely missed by a grateful, loving family including son Buck (Nancy), daughter Laurie Anderson (David), daughter-in-law Susan Jorgensen, as well as eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Our family is planning for a celebration this spring.
