Dorothy Lawrence Stephens died peacefully with her daughter Laurie at her side, on Aug. 8 in her apartment at Brooksby Retirement Community. She was a remarkable 100 years old.
Dorothy was born on February 9, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, an only child to Grace Dunham Lawrence and Edgar Parvin Lawrence. Dorothy grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, spent summers in Island Heights, New Jersey, graduated from Columbia High School, and then New Jersey College for Women (Douglass College) where she earned her degree in history and political science. She met her future husband, Robert Fyfe Stephens at a USO dance, and they married on March 23, 1946, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Dorothy and Bob began their lives together as a conventional couple, Dorothy as a stay-at-home mother and Bob as a student finishing his bachelor’s degree. They moved to Ann Arbor so that Bob could pursue a graduate degree in political science. Dorothy later wrote a loosely biographical novel, “Willow Run,” about this experience raising two small children in rather grim conditions in Michigan State’s graduate student housing. Bob landed a job with the U.S. State Department as a foreign affairs officer and they were posted to Nairobi, Kenya, in 1957 where Bob served as vice consul and cultural affairs officer. They loved their two
years in Kenya, mingling with African leaders and educators and exploring the African bush on safari. Dorothy described these fascinating years in Africa in her first memoir, “Kwa Heri Means Goodbye.”
The family moved to Syracuse, New York, 1963 when Bob got a job at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and Dorothy began her teaching career. In 1967, they were off to another adventure in East Africa, this time in Tanzania, where Bob did research for Syracuse University and Dorothy taught fifth grade at the International School in Dar Es Salaam. After returning briefly to Syracuse, the family moved again to Marblehead where Dorothy taught at Bell Elementary School and Bob held a faculty position at Tuft’s
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Dorothy also earned a master’s in teaching at Salem State University. The couple remained in Marblehead until making one last move in 2012 to Brooksby Village Senior Living in Peabody.
Dorothy had a passion for writing and for nature, and travel as well. She added biking to that list when, at the age of 70, she began bike touring. She published numerous travel articles, as well as other essays, in a variety of national newspapers and magazines, including The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Jose Mercury News, The Miami Herald, Cruising World and Adventure Cyclist. In 1997, Dorothy was selected as a Breadloaf
Scholar and was co-winner of their prestigious Bakeless Prize in nonfiction writing. She also wrote a second memoir (“Africa Calling Me Back”) and two more novels, “A Door Just Opened” and “The Emancipation of Emily” which was published just one week before her death. She co-wrote the book “Discovering Marblehead: A Guide to Open Spaces and Historic Places.”
Dorothy’s optimism and resilience can be seen in her determination to find joy even after the loss of two daughters. Kelly Elizabeth Stephens died in 1993 at age 37 and Cathleen Stephens Ellis died in 2008 at the age of 62. These losses did not stop her from leading a full and meaningful life.
So many people loved Dorothy. She was kind and gracious to everyone she met and was remembered by others after just the briefest of encounters. Dorothy sang in the choir at the
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead until age 97, and was an active member of several organizations at Brooksby Village, including the Diversity Committee, The Resident’s Advisory Committee, The Climate Change Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Dorothy is preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Robert Fyfe Stephens, and her daughters Kelly Elizabeth Stephens and Cathleen Stephens Ellis. She is survived by son Robert Fyfe Stephens, Jr., of St. Kitts, West Indies; and daughter Laurie Ellen Stephens of Hood River, Oregon; grandchildren Kerry Ann Carey, Robert Thomas Tate, Ryan Alexander Ward, Casey Lawrence Ward, Grace Margaret Stephens and Marina Elizabeth Stephens; seven great grandchildren; and, to her delight and amazement, two great-great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be scheduled and announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Kelly E. Stephens Memorial Scholarship Fund, Boston University Development Gift Processing, JPMorgan Chase & Co., P.O. Box 22605, New York, NY, 10087-2605. Please mail gifts made payable to Trustees of Boston University to the address above. Please designate “The Kelly E. Stephens Memorial Scholarship Fund” in the memo line of the check.
All of Dorothy Stephens’ books can be purchased on Amazon.com, and proceeds will be donated to the Brooksby Scholarship Fund for college students.
