Dorothy Mae Morton, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother, 87, passed away on Friday, June 13, 2014, at Skagit Valley Hospital in Mt. Vernon, WA.
Dorothy was born on September 22, 1926 in Pueblo, CO, the daughter of Charles and Mary Perry. She was raised and attended school in Pueblo, CO.
She met the love of her life, Leroy Morton at the age of 15 at a church social. Dorothy and Leroy were engaged and eventually married at the age of 19 after WWII. They would have celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary on June 22. The couple made their home in Pueblo until 1955 when they moved to the Skagit Valley. While in Pueblo, two children were born, Charles and Cathy. After arriving in Washington, two additional children were born, Ron and Cindy. Dorothy and Leroy built their new life near Burlington, WA, where they resided on the family farm until her passing.
During her life Dorothy first and foremost took care of her family. She contributed by working outside the home at many various jobs. While in Pueblo, she worked for Montgomery Ward in the shoe department and was quickly promoted to department manager. After arriving in Washington she worked as a checker at Safeway, seasonally at National Fruit Cannery, at Roozen Bulbs, at Rocky Point Oyster, at Skagit Speedway and finally for many years as manager of Super 24 Foods in Bellingham. After retirement, she started a house cleaning business for the elderly and volunteered many hours at the Skagit Valley Gleaners (just to keep busy).
Throughout the years when raising a family, Dorothy always planted a large family garden, preserving much of the food to be consumed during the winter. Dorothy was a 4-H club leader and touched the lives of many area children.
Dorothy loved life; baking, camping, cooking, road trips, motorcycle trips with Leroy, walking on the Pacific Ocean beach but most of all Dorothy loved people. She never met a stranger, and was always eager to provide updates to all about her beloved family.
She is survived by her loving husband Leroy, son Charles (Gretchen),daughter Cathy Costanti (Dan), son Ron (Dorene), and daughter Cindy Stahlecker (Danny); 12 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren.
The family extends a special thanks to the caregivers at Skagit Valley Senior Village who cared for Dorothy for a short time and to the Hospice Northwest team.
A celebration of life for family and friends will be held at the family farm, 19203 Morton Road, on June 29 from 2-4 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Dorothy Morton to Hospice of the Northwest, 227 Freeway Dr., Mt. Vernon, WA.
