In Memorium…she reminded me that today would have been her 90th birthday.
Dorothy was born on October 18, 1914, in Mediapolis, Iowa. She attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, graduating in the class of 1936. She met Thomas Jackson, who noticed her while she acted in a college play. Dorothy taught school for one year before she married Tom in 1937. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary shortly before his death. Their five children were all born in Iowa and in 1950 the family relocated to south Minneapolis. While Dorothy enjoyed raising her young family she also reconnected with activities she had enjoyed during her life in Iowa, notably the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. She was a 60+ year member of both. The family joined the Mayflower Church upon settling in the city and all children confirmed in this church. Dorothy had a lifelong love of learning, which she carried with her to her last day. She joined Great Books in the 50s (this group is still intact and she was preparing to lead a discussion in August) and belonged to other book clubs throughout her retirement years. Dorothy taught English, civics and French in both the Minneapolis and Bloomington public secondary schools and had a genuine love of teaching young people. She had a lifelong love of nature that began as a girl in Iowa where she tramped the Mississippi River bottoms with her father. Later, in college, she took an ornithology class that led to a love of birding. With their move to the St. Croix River Valley in 1972, she had the joy of waking every morning to a day of natural beauty. She was an active guide at the Lee and Rose Warner Nature Center for many years, sharing her love of nature with grade school children. Tom and Dorothy enjoyed travels in their retirement years. In 1995, Dorothy made her last journey to her beloved France after celebrating her 80th birthday. Dorothy will be deeply missed by her five children, their spouses, ten grandchildren, their spouses, five great grandchildren. Also at the core of what she valued were the wonderful friendships she worked hard to maintain throughout her life. We rejoice in her life and cherish her memory. She modeled as simple virtue of living each day as it comes finding joy in love of nature and humanity.
