Dorothy 'Dottie' Eleanor (Dorst) Stewart, 94
Dorothy "Dottie" Eleanor (Dorst) Stewart, 94, passed away Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005, at Heritage Place in Kalispell.
She was born Jan. 26, 1910, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to John Louis Dorst and Florence May (Elwood) Dorst. Dorothy was born one of seven children. Her siblings included three older brothers, Stan, Wib, and Paul, as well as an older sister, Florence, and two younger sisters, Helen and Margaret.
As a young girl Dorothy moved with her family to Springfield, Ohio. After grade school and high school Dottie worked her way through Wittenberg College in the same town as a secretary to the dean. She graduated receiving degrees in English and education.
Dorothy then taught junior high and later high school English for more than 30 years in Springfield.
In her early teaching years she married William Howard Stewart, a fellow teacher and coach. They had two children, Kathleen and William. Dorothy continued mentoring; she helped to put her own children through college and medical school.
In 2001 Dorothy moved to Kalispell. Here, living near family, she took numerous trips with them to see Glacier National Park, other areas of the state, and trips to Canada. After spending most of her life in the flat lands, she developed a deep love for the mountains, the wildlife, and the birds of the state.
Dorothy's relatives will remember her intelligence, her wry wit, her "talking" dark brown eyes, her love of reading, the countless sweaters she knitted for them, and her deep concern for the family.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, William; as well as her three brothers, and three sisters.
She is survived by her two children, daughter, Kathleen Stokes and husband, Thomas, of Denver; and son, William Stewart, M.D. and wife, Patricia, of Kalispell; niece, Sally Dorst of New York; and nephew, John Woodrow of Cudjoe Key, Fla. Dottie was also a grandmother to four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Graveside services for Dorothy "Dottie" Eleanor (Dorst) Stewart will be held in the spring at Fern Cliff Cemetery in Springfield, Ohio.
Arrangements are under the direction of Johnson Mortuary and Crematory.
Those wishing to make donations in memory of Dorothy Eleanor Dorst Stewart may send money in her name to Flathead High School. The funds will be used in the Reading Intervention Program that assists struggling high school students to embrace reading and literature. Please make checks out to Flathead High School. Mail them to Flathead High School, Care of Michele Pain, Reading Intervention Program, 644 Fourth Ave. W., Kalispell, MT 59901. The family is deeply grateful for the donations in Dorothy's memory.