Dorothy E. Albert, 88, of Dunlap, departed this life Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, at Dunlap Specialty Care.
Dorothy was born Aug. 9, 1932, on a farm on the outskirts of Dunlap to Fred J and Pearl (Lewis) Davis. The third child of 9 and weighing a mere 4 1/2 lbs, she was the namesake of her two grandmothers Mary Dorothy Lewis and Electa Elizabeth Jordan. She attended grade school in Dunlap from age 5 and graduated from Dunlap High in May 1949, having participated in Pep club, Glee club, Purplite and playing forward in basketball all four years. She was also a Rainbow Girl and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. After graduation she worked for Watson Brothers in Omaha until 1952, when she united in marriage to Arthur Albert of Dunlap at the Dunlap Methodist church on July 5. Almost immediately she became the cook for the Illinois Central "camp car" railroad gang that Art supervised and they lived on the cars, moving from town to town. In 1955, now living in Chicago, Ill., they welcomed daughter Debra and 10 years later, in Champaign, Ill., they welcomed daughter Becky. In 1971, they relocated to Memphis, Tenn., where they remained until Art's death in 1991. Art's job with the railroad had moved them frequently and they lived in Dubuque, Chicago, New Orleans, Champaign, Park Forest, Memphis and temporarily; Frederick, Md. But in 1993, over 40 years after she departed Dunlap, she returned to be in the company of her beloved mother, siblings and extended family.
Dorothy was well-read, intelligent, techno-savvy, mechanically inclined and politically astute. Stubborn and fiercely independent with a wicked sense of humor, she enjoyed euchre, fishing, mushroom hunting, golf, watching basketball and was an excellent cook. She adored nature; having a garden, a nice yard and flowers were important to her, and she won Yard of the Month for her efforts. Fastidious and the original minimalist, she always kept a lovely home. She hated Mondays, false pretenses and dishonest people. She loved a certain shade of blue that we refer to as "Dorothy Blue". Dot, Dort, Fib, Aunt Dorothy or Grandma, no matter how you knew her, she will be deeply missed.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; husband; four brothers, Jordan, Patrick, James and Jerald Davis; and two sisters Madeline Snethan and Betty Hartwig. She is survived by her two daughters, Debra and her husband Brian of Palm Harbor, Fla., Becky and her husband Stephen of Sun City, Ariz.; granddaughter, Jordan and her husband Barron Roddey; three step-granddaughters, Nichole Mascari-Barrett and wife Chantell, Andrea and husband Chris Geron, and Candace and husband James McKay; nine great-grandchildren; five siblings, Ruth Nagengast of Albert City, Sally and her husband Charles Mitchell of Dunlap, Ila Jane Buffum of Logan, William Davis of Cedar Lake, Ind. and Paul Davis and wife Bonnie of Missouri Valley, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Having come full circle, she will be interred in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Dunlap, just over the hill from where she was born. Private funeral services are planned for Thursday, Oct. 22 at Fouts Funeral Home in Dunlap, with committal service following. All may attend the committal but social distancing is to be observed. It will also be live streamed on the Fouts Funeral Home FaceBook page.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made in Dorothy's name to the Dunlap Public Library.
