Dorothy "Dottie" Simpson

Dorothy Simpson, 95, of Boulder Colorado, formerly a long-time resident of Kent, Ohio, died peacefully on February 13, 2013 at the Balfour Skilled Nursing Center in Boulder County. Dorothy's cause of death was influenza and "failure to thrive" as an Alzheimer's patient.

Dorothy was born on January 25, 1918 in New York City to Richard J. and Hazel H. Best. She graduated from Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, New Jersey in 1936 and from St. Luke's School of Nursing in New York City in 1938.

While working as a Head Nurse at St. Luke's Hospital, Dorothy was asked to do a photo shoot for Good Housekeeping Magazine. In January 1941 she was published in the Fashion section "Who Makes Fashions Popular? - The Working Girl - I am a Trained Nurse". The article featured an interview and four photos of Dorothy modeling current fashion trends .

She married John Bartshe Simpson who was working for NBC at Radio City, New York on May 24, 1941.

While her husband, John, was serving in Europe during WWII, Dorothy and their first son, moved to Kent to spend most of the "war years" with John's parents. After completing his army service, John and Dorothy returned to Kent with their two sons, John, Jr. (Jack) and William R. (Bill) to make Kent their home.

John and Dorothy joined Christ Episcopal Church of Kent. As an active member of the church, her commitment to social justice and her nursing background, Dorothy helped establish and nurture many organizations. She was quoted as saying, "I like to go out and see a need and do something about it". Within the Kent community, she organized and recruited many volunteers who actively collaborated with her. She said, "I am one of many. It takes a group."

In 1970, she helped start a Well Child Clinic as a locally-based prevention care clinic for children with the support of the Kent Visiting Nurse Association (later known as the Greater Portage Area Visiting Nurse Association) and the city. She found a home for the clinic at Christ Episcopal Church and served as its volunteer coordinator. Dorothy was the representative from the Episcopal Church as the Portage County Clothing Center was being organized. She was secretary of the board, recruited volunteers and remained an active volunteer until moving to Colorado in 2009.

She was past President of the Episcopal Church Women in the Diocese of Ohio from 1973 to 1976; Chairperson of the Task Force on Women from 1981 to 1987. In these positions, she helped to bring the emergence of women's issues into the church. She was a key planner for a 1982 Jamaican Conference "A Women's Encounter" and in 1988 joined a small group who travelled to Russia to celebrate a thousand years of Christianity. She served as the Church School Superintendent and founded TORCH (Teen Outreach through Christian Help) an ecumenical program based in the Episcopal Church.

Dorothy was a past President of the Kent Visiting Nurse Association from 1981 to 1983 and served on the Board of Trustees of that organization from 1978 to 1984. In 1981, she helped initiate Portage County Hospice, helped write the by-laws, organized volunteers and staff training, gave speeches, worked on fund-raising and served as its President. In 1987 with a group of eight women, she began Caring Home Help, Inc. providing in-home health care with referrals through the Greater Portage County Visiting Nurse Association.

She helped start Townhall II 24-hour crisis intervention hot-line and walk-in counseling services, was on the Kent Hunger Task Force and helped initiate a now closed Portage County Women's Shelter.

Dorothy was honored to have been awarded the Kent Visiting Nurse Association's Tullis Young Award, The national JC Penny Award for Community Service, The Kent Area Chamber of Commerce Medal for Public Service in 1991, the Betty Leo Peace and Justice Award in 1999 by the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland and was inducted into the 2004 Senior Hall of Fame by the Portage County Board of Commissioners.

Dorothy is survived by her two sons, Jack (Nancy) of Boulder, Colorado and Bill
(Renee') of the Villages, Florida; three grandsons, Kent, 37, of Denver, Colorado, Blair, 35, (Melissa), of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and Stephen, 32, of Baltimore, Maryland; and three great grandchildren; Anna, 4, Wyatt, 3, and Gray, 18 months. Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, John; her sisters, Mildred B. Beckel and Helen B. Butterfoss; and her brother, Richard Best.

Funeral Services will be held 11 AM Saturday, April 6th at Christ Episcopal Church of Kent, The Rev. Julie Blake Fisher officiating. A reception following the service will be held in the Undercroft of the church. Private burial services will be held at Standing Rock Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Christ Episcopal Church, 118 South Mantua Street, Kent, OH 44240, any of the organizations that she supported, or to an organization of the donor's choice.