Dorothy A. Greene

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Dorothy “Dotty” A. Greene of Paxton died on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, surrounded by her family.

Born on Valentine’s Day, 1920, in Hartford, Conn., she was the daughter of the late Carrie B. (Duquette) Greene and Rex E. Greene.

Dotty grew up in Bristol and she was a graduate of Connecticut College. She was employed by Aetna Insurance Co. in Hartford, and later worked for Dr. Harold DeGraff at the College of Agriculture, Cornell University. In 1943, she married her college sweetheart, Richmond L. Greene, thus never changing her name.

Dotty and Rich moved to Torrington, Conn., in 1949 where she became active in several community organizations including the Torrington YMCA, where she was a long-time director and became the first female vice-president of the Torrington Area United Way, which she served as chair of the Allocation Committee. She also served on the Board of Trustees of the Heritage Land Preservation Trust, and she was also a long-time member of the Republican Town Committee. She was active in her childrens’ school PTAs and a charter member of the Drakeville Fire Department Auxiliary. After raising her children, she and several girlfriends (the Torrington T4s) backpacked the entire Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. Thus she was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Appalachian Trail Conference. Following her husband’s retirement, the couple lived half the year on Martha’s Vineyard and seasonally traveled in their RV throughout the U.S. They even camped their way across Alaska with their youngest daughter.

Dorothy is survived by her husband of nearly 68 years (Jan. 30), Richmond L. Greene; three daughters, Cynthia Lemish and husband, Edward, of North Easton, Deirdre Malone and husband, John, of Paxton and Kimberly R. Greene and husband, John Gray, of Boulder, Colo.; four grandchildren, Jeffery S. Simons of Burbank, S.D., Erica L. Smith of Paxton; William Fox IX of Manchester, N.J., and Carrie A. Fox of Montpelier, Vt.; two (almost three) great-grandchildren; a sister, Margaret McKay Paradise of Conn.; a nephew and two nieces. She was predeceased by her sister, Helen O’Keefe and her only brother, Rex E. Greene Jr. who was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in WW II.

Dorothy was also a member of the First United Methodist Church of Torrington, Conn., and the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs. Since their retirement, Dorothy and Richmond have spent countless hours volunteering for Union Chapel.

A funeral service was scheduled for Wednesday, February 2, in Holden, Mass. Spring interment will be in Forestville Cemetery, Forestville, Conn.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made in memory of Dotty to either the Christian Union Inc. (Union Chapel), P.O. Box 1164, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; Town of Oak Bluffs Council on Aging, P.O. Box 1327, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; Paxton First Responders, 578 Pleasant Street, Paxton, MA 01612; or the Paxton Council on Aging Paxton, 17 West Street, Paxton, MA 01612. For on-line condolences, www.milesfuneralhome.com.