Dorothy Alice Mac Donald

I have so many memories of my Aunt Dot thats it is difficult to know where to start.  One of the most enduring of those memories is when I came out to Glenwood Springs to work for the summer at Hanging Lake (I think it was 1961).  I was the ripe old age of 14 and traveling alone, however a couple in Denver picked me up at the airport and put me on the train to Glenwood Springs the following morning.  The first face I recognized from the train was my Aunt Dot standing at the Glenwood train station to pick me up.  What a welcome sight that was.  She immediately took me to a clothing store to try to get me looking like I belonged in Colorado instead of Boston.  A new hat, new boots, and some new blue jeans probably didn't make me look the part but it was a good attempt.  That Summer is one I will never forget as she and Uncle Roger taught me so many things about working at a gas station, motel and restaraunt but also about life itself.  I think Aunt Dot invited me there to babysit Tracy and Barry but I had different ideas so I'm not sure she was thrilled about that.  I was lucky enough to vist Hanging Lake a few years ago and the memories were as vivid as if it had only been a couple of days since that summer and they overwhelmed me (I am now 61).  That summer is forever burned into my memory and Aunt Dot played a huge part in that.  I will miss her.

 

When I attended Colorado State I knew I had a welcoming home in Aurora to go to for weekends and holidays any time I felt I needed to.  I took advantage of her home cooking quite often.  Those are days I will always remember as well. 

 

God is good and I'm sure there was a celebration in heaven the day that Aunt Dot arrived and I can only imagine the welcoming committee waiting at the "train station" to welcome her there.

Dottie, we will miss seeing you collecting your special rocks for safe keeping at the edge of your back yard, and waving hello to us.  We believe in angels and you were a very special one placed in our lives to add love and kindness from God.  Our love back to you, Dottie for now and for all eternity. Frank and Jan 

Dottie, I am so fortunate to have had you and Roger as my neighbors in Eastcliffe. Can remember so many conversations we had and most of all our trips to Salida to go swimming. Of course, we always found a new restaurant to eat in after swimming and then the rush home before the thunder showers came. You will be missed, but never forgotten. You are like family to me. love forever, carol

Somewhere in my treasure trove of sentimental things, I have a little reel to reel tape with ten minutes of

Dottie laughing. The beginning of the tape is a recording of “someone who shall remain nameless” playing

in the bathtub with his Army men, but when Dottie came around the corner and heard what Tracy and I were

recording, she started laughing so hard, her laughing was all we got on the rest of the tape. Dottie’s laugh

is infectious! It starts with a titter and turns into a giggle, followed by an, “Oh, gosh,” mixed with a latent

West Virginia accent. Heading into our teens, Dottie caught Tracy and me dancing on the brick hearth of

their living room fireplace. She told us that as long as we did not tell Roger, she would teach us how to dance

…she did teach us…and we did not tell Roger for the next three decades! When we were mid-teens, Dottie

allowed Tracy and me to try our hand at making wine, as long as whatever happened was our responsibility.

We decided to ferment grape juice and yeast in a large bottle with a balloon on the top. In the middle of the

night, there was a very loud “bang” in the kitchen. We all ran in to find purple stuff blown all over Dottie’s

kitchen walls, floor, and ceiling. Tracy and I cleaned that kitchen well into the next afternoon! As adults,

Dottie and I use to go antique shopping, and spending time with her was lots of fun. It is a wonderful gift

to have been her daughter-in-law this past year and a half. The Sunday prior to her 81^st birthday, Tracy,

Dottie, Bree, and I spent hours running around “Metropolitan” Coal Creek looking at houses. We laughed

a great deal, and there is no better way to remember Dottie than to remember her laughing. Love always, E