Dorothy Louise Walton, 87, of Island City, died March 21. A graveside service will begin at 2 p.m. Monday at the Island City Cemetery. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Dorothy was born Feb. 21, 1921, to Byron Howard and Vashti Ester (Piersol) Haynes in Sterling, Colo. She grew up in Colorado, and through various circumstances went to live in Arkansas for a time, which is where she met and married her husband, Ray Walton.
The couple married in 1939 and had their first son, Lee, in 1940. In 1942, they moved to California and settled in the Lodi/Walnut Grove area near Sacramento, where they had their second child, Nancy, in 1943. In 1952, the family moved to Willits, Calif., where they had a third child, Thomas, in 1957.
Dorothy and Ray lived in Willits until 1967 when they separated. Dorothy relocated to Los Angeles to live with her father who was a recent widower. She lived in Los Angeles until 1995 when she moved to La Grande to live near her son, Lee.
Dorothy fell in her home and was hospitalized in 2001. Following a recuperative period, she became a resident of the Twin Firs assisted living facility. When Twin Firs closed its doors in 2003, she moved to a new elder foster care home that was being started by one of her caregivers from Twin Firs. Diane Hainline cared for Dorothy until the day Dorothy died.
Those who knew her say Dorothy was a hard-working individual and always gave more than she received. She was a woman of many occupations in her lifetime. In her early years, she was usually waitressing or cooking in numerous cafes, truck stops and diners while raising her children. Later, she was a housecleaner for a time and was accepted as a family member by those whose homes she took such good care of.
When she moved to Los Angeles, she became a cook in a small hospital in Glendale, and worked there until it closed in 1979. She developed a good reputation in the local health care community and was able to transition to the position of dietician and head cook at a small convalescent hospital nearby, where she worked until retiring in 1991.
After retiring, she spent most of her time doing what she loved most — crafts of all kinds. She had a talent for sewing, crochet, knitting, needlepoint, quilting, dolls, miniatures, ceramics and painting.
Dorothy is survived by her three children, Lee and his wife, Dawn Walton, of La Grande, Nancy Bromaghim of Fort Bragg, Calif., and Thomas Walton of Palmdale, Calif.; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
La Grande Observer – Obituaries for the week ending March 29, 2008 – Published March 27, 2008
Submitted by Dixie Ricker