Dorothy G Smith passed away on 30 July 2026 in Kennewick WA at age 101 years.

Dorothy wrote this autobiography in 1994 for the Family Histories she was researching:

Dorothy Hope Green, daughter of Lillian F. (Zeman) and Eric L. Green, was born in 1925 in Bavaria, Kansas. She was born at home as was the custom in those days.

Dorothy's father worked in construction and for the first five years of her life, the family moved following Eric from one job to another, mostly in Kansas but once to Stinnett, Texas. When it came time for Dorothy to start school, her mother made the decision to keep her family of three girls in one place and let Eric travel to work without them. That place was Manhattan, Kansas.

Dorothy spent her entire school career in Manhattan, starting kindergarten in 1930 and graduating from Kansas State College (KSC) in 1946, the whole time living at home. She was a so-so student, better in the sciences and math than in English, history, and geography. She hated physical education classes and competitive sports. In college her major was chemistry with a minor in math.

Dorothy met her future husband, Francis M. Smith, in a psychology class at KSC in the summer of 1943. They were married 27 January 1945 in Manhattan. The couple moved to Kansas City, Kansas. Three months later they were back in Manhattan with Francis doing graduate work and Dorothy finishing the last three semesters of her undergraduate work, graduating in June 1946.

In 1946 World War Il was over and colleges were flooded with returning veterans attending college under the GI bill. Instructors were in short supply, especially in chemistry, and Dorothy was asked to teach in the chemistry department at KSC after she graduated. She taught there for the next two years while Francis continued to work part-time on his graduate degree and worked full-time. More than half of her students, returning GIs, were older than Dorothy, and for a very shy girl, it wasn't easy, especially when she was asked to council them with their personal problems

Dorothy and Francis started their family while still in Manhattan. Michael Rex was born in 1948 and Jerri Kay was born in 1949.

In October 1949 the family moved to Highland, Indiana, and lived in the Chicago area for the next six and a half years. Russell Lee was born in 1954 in the Gary, Indiana hospital.

They now had three children and Dorothy was content to stay home and be a mother and wife for seventeen years.

It wasn't until she was pregnant with Russ that Dorothy finally learned to drive a car. By the time she knew how to drive she was too big to fit under the steering wheel. She was thirty years old before she was able to go places without being taken. At the time it was a BIG deal.

The family made their last move to Washington State in 1956. They built a home in Pasco, WA, in 1958 and still live there. Dorothy did volunteer work with the Girl and Boy Scouts by being a leader of a Brownie and Cub Scout group while they lived in Richland. Once they moved to Pasco, she was active in the 4-H and Homemaker organizations.

In 1966 Mike was ready to go to college. Dorothy got off her duff and went to work to help put the kids through college. She got a half-time job with the Department of Energy through an experimental program that allowed women who had college degrees but had not worked for a number of years while raising their children, to work for the Government. As the kids got older and required more money, the hours of work increased and by the time they were finally through, Dorothy was working full time and loving every minute of it. She was administrative assistant to the Director of Safety for the last ten years. She took on every job that no one in the office wanted. She retired in April 1987. Oh yes, she is no longer shy.

At age sixty, Dorothy learned to snow ski. For someone who didn't like sports and exercise in school, Dorothy did a complete turn-around. Now she skies whenever possible (four weeks a year are set aside for skiing vacations), takes serious bicycle rides all year long several times a week, and works out with weights on an average of three times a week. She claims she can beat up any sixty-nine year old woman she knows and most of the men. No doubt about it, she is in her second childhood. I don't see anything wrong with that.

---Dorothy Smith, Family History, 1994

During her retirement years Dorothy never stopped moving—she was always busy--playing bridge and running the bridge club at the Richland Senior Center, gardening, quilting, knitting, reading, baking date whirls, traveling.

She traveled regularly to visit her sisters Eileen in Texas and Blanche in Elmira NY and daughter Jerri in New York City—as well as trips with Francis, sisters, family and friends to Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Eastern Europe, England, Scotland, Sweden to visit Swedish cousins, Nice, and Entrevaux, France to spread some of Francis’ ashes.

In 1999 a photographer took photos of Dorothy and Francis walking along the beach in Hilton Head. In the next few years family and friends reported sightings of their photos from billboards in Delaware to magazine ads in alternative medicine magazines. Fame at last!

Laughter and games have always been an important part of Smith family life. Bridge, Wizard, Cribbage, Scribbage, Racko and Cryptoquotes kept her mind sharp until the very end.

Dorothy became an integral part of any community she was in. Her generosity, openness and sense of humor quickly turned neighbors into friends and friends into “adopted” family.

When she moved into her own apartment in assisted living in 2025, she introduced herself to all with: “Hi—I’m Dorothy from Kansas”. Everyone remembered her name. She loved her life and lived it to the fullest.

One of her proudest legacies is the Little Free Library in front of her home of 68 years made, painted and curated by dear friends Julie and Randy Rogers of Pasco. Dot’s Little Free Library is on the LFL World Map--Take a Book; Leave a Book!

Dorothy is survived by daughter Jerri Smith of New York, son Russell Smith of San Francisco, and daughter-in law Erica Smith. She is predeceased by her husband of 62 years Francis and son Michael.

Dorothy’s beautiful life came to an end Thursday evening 30 July 2026 in Chaplaincy Hospice House in the company of family and friends. Her final words were “Oh Wow!”

Donations are appreciated to Little Free Library.org or Tri Cities Chaplaincy Hospice House.

Dorothy’s website with more photos is at: http://www.dorothysmith.net/life