It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our mother Dorothy (Dee) on Monday, December 11, 2023 in her 99th year at Great Northern Retirement Home, surrounded by the love of her family.
Dorothy left us to be reunited with the love of her life Winston Lane (true love never ends). Dorothy was predeceased by her parents, Louis and Isabel Weissgerber, and her sister Lois McCluskey. She leaves a legacy of love to her children Sharon Routhier (Paul), Penny Lane (Larry Nolte), Cam Lane (Gail), her grandchildren Cherie Ayton (Andrew), Rejean Routhier, Genevieve Routhier, Rachel Nolte Laird (Dave), Alysha Nolte (Evan), Annika Lane, and Téa Lane, and her great grandchildren Alaina, Clara and Winston Ayton, Flannery and Winston Laird.
That Dorothy was imbued with a strong will was apparent from the very beginning and with time was met in equal measure with her concern for others. No one who knew her for any length of time could doubt her resolve, the keen moral sense that informed it, or the depth of kindness and compassion in the service of which it was brought to bear. After a fondly remembered, if somewhat itinerant upbringing, she entered the profession of nursing, an identity she kept to the very end. She willingly laid this aside for the enterprise of family building with her life partner and soul mate, Winston. Half measures had no role in her outlook and as we all learned, the effort to correct was worth the effort of the endeavor. Knitting and ripping as Winston would say. For Dorothy, her personal relationships deserved and received the greatest care. For that, we the bereaved, are eternally grateful. No account of Dorothy would be complete without mention of the transformative impact of her decision to choose the path of Christ. To those of us that knew and loved her best we would say she was a shining example of a follower of Jesus. We will miss her unquestioning and foundational love, her generosity, her restless curiosity, her love of chocolate (and other sweets…). Most of all we will miss her.
The family would like to express their thanks to the wonderful support of Dr. Karen Booth and the palliative care team and the PSWs from Bayshore and CBI. Our deep thanks, also, to the staff of Great Northern Retirement Home for creating a place in which Dorothy felt safe and known over the past 12 years.
A celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held in the spring and details will be shared at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations are welcomed in Dorothy’s name to Women in Crisis, A.R.C.H. or the Pregnancy Centre. Arrangements entrusted to Arthur Funeral Home - Barton & Kiteley Chapel (492 Wellington St. E. - 705-759-2522). Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.arthurfuneralhome.com for the Lane family.