It was the 40's, after WWII, years before the women's movement of the 60's and 70's. Dottie took care of her parents as they became ill, first one, then another. Her life was consumed by her duty as the dutiful daughter and college was out of the question. Into her life came a handsome young engineer who, when she was free from her care taking, rescued her to a married life of safety and comfort, enveloped by her family, her home and her love of the many animals who came to her back yard from the forested gully that wound past her home.
She fed the squirrels, the birds, the fox, raccoons and other woodland creatures who came to the feeders for nourishment. She loved the wild things and ignored the comments from her husband who fretted about the exorbitant cost of feed. Some wives spend a fortune on jewelry, clothes, cars or entertainment. Her life was simple. She preferred taking care of her family and the animals that crept out of the forest to partake of the bounty in her yard.
There were the occasions when she and her husband travelled back to Minnesota to visit with her in-laws and their relatives. During those times she asked her son, Bruce, to tend to her creatures who were fed daily through her generosity. Her son came to check on the house. He had no intention of feeding the critters. While walking through the living room he got the strangest, eerie feeling. He went over to the large patio windows and opened the drapes. Outside the window was a group of raccoons sitting silently, staring and waiting for the food they had been accustomed to receive from his mother. Bruce felt his skin crawl as he looked at this voiceless assembly and, needless to say, he went straight away to the food supply and threw out the food. During the rest of his time checking on the house he did not neglect the critters outside the window. After all, it was what his mother wished.
Dottie kept contact with her husband's family, writing lengthy letters each Christmas, informing us in detail of the her family's activities. She graciously took in her father-in-law for weeks at a time after his wife died. She also took me into her home for a time of healing while I was going through a crisis and had need of a sanctuary far from the problems facing me. I will not forget her kindness to me.
And now we say goodbye to this woman who followed her duty....to her parents, her family, her husband's family and the creatures who came her way. In her new life may she be surrounded by those who made her happy in this life. We can only hope.
Goodbye, Dottie....daughter, wife, mother, my sister-in-law and friend to all.....
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