MACLEAN, Dorothy
June 24, 1921 – June 2, 2010
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, great aunt, and friend to so many. Dorothy passed away on June 2, 2010 at Cheam Village Care Centre at the age of 88.
Dorothy was born June 24, 1921 in Viking, Alberta, the eldest of two daughters of Reginald and Violet Dann. Violet had been working for a large bank in London, England, when she and Reginald met at the London Tennis Club. They were married in 1918 in Folkestone, a seaside resort near Dover, and shortly afterward emigrated to Canada — to a patch of prairie farmland 90 miles southeast of Edmonton.
Dorothy and her sister Betty attended Cromer and Viking schools. Dorothy went on to nursing school at the Grey Nuns Edmonton General Hospital. After graduating in the spring of 1944, she nursed at her hometown hospital in Viking for a few months before moving to Red Deer Hospital.
Dorothy had a dream of becoming an airline stewardess and applied to TransCanada Airlines. To her delight, in the spring of 1945, she was called to Winnipeg for a month’s training before beginning flight duties on the Lethbridge/Calgary/Edmonton route.
It was in Lethbridge that Dorothy met Jim Maclean, an RCAF pilot, and in June 1947, they were married. A few weeks later, they moved to Cumberland, a mining town on Vancouver Island, to manage the Union Hotel, where they stayed for the next six-and-a-half years. Dorothy and Jim had two children while living in Cumberland. From there, they moved to their final location at the Sasquatch Inn at Harrison Mills, where they had five more children
Dorothy was a long-time member of the Maple Wings Society, the Legion, and the Edmonton General Hospital Alumni. Dorothy loved the theatre, music, and travelling. She was a very social, good-natured person, who enjoyed her family and friends, and had a great wit that delighted all who met her. Dorothy’s kind nature similarly shone through to all who knew her.
Dorothy will be lovingly remembered and dearly missed by her children Douglas (Theresa), Kristine, Murray (Anita), Bruce (Nancy), Scott, Heather (Dave), and Janet; grandchildren Jacqueline, Ian, Craig, Shaun, David, Brittany, and Jacqueline; great grandchildren Nolan and Makenna; sister-in-law Helen; nieces Sylvia, Pam (Jim), and Cindy; and nephews Jim (Carol) and Bob. Dorothy is predeceased by her loving husband of 43 years James Martin [Jim], sister Beatrice Barrett, and nephew Reid Dobell.
A celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held on Thursday, June 10 at 1 p.m. at the Agassiz Agricultural Hall at 6800 Pioneer Avenue, Agassiz.
Online condolences can be left www.hendersonsfunerals.com