- Date Of Birth: March 26, 1926
- Date Of Death: November 20, 2021
- State: Michigan
Dorothy “Dotty” Ellen Hook, age 95 of Kalamazoo, passed away peacefully on November 20, 2021 at Rose Arbor Hospice.
Dotty was born March 26, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, the eldest child of Ervin and Ellen Dorothy (Bloom) Cook. Dotty’s childhood was spent growing up on farmland surrounded by many animals in Independence, Missouri. Dotty graduated from Central Missouri State College with her Bachelor of Science in Education. In college, as a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, she met her lifelong best friend, Ruth Evelyn Graham. Dotty married Ernest (Ernie) Hook on July 27, 1947 in Kansas City, Kansas. She worked as a second-grade teacher before Dotty and Ernie welcomed their first daughter, Wendy, into their family. They were overjoyed when son, David, was born two years later. Daughter, Molly, was a surprise blessing after ten years when she then completed their family.
Kalamazoo, Michigan became home to Dotty and Ernie in 1962 when Ernie was promoted and transferred by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Dotty enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom during the kids’ childhoods. She supported their participation in boy and girl scouts, piano and singing lessons, and promoted a love of learning. When Molly was in fourth grade, Dotty translated her sewing hobby into a part-time job at Compere Fabrics. Three years later, she was encouraged by a friend to take a tutoring course about dyslexia at the SLD Read Center, which reignited her passion for teaching children. Dotty then began to work for SLD Read, performing academic skills testing for fifteen years until she retired.
Dotty and Ernie enjoyed life and many hobbies together, including golfing, square-dancing, playing bridge, participating in Elderhostel trips, taking classes at the Portage Senior Center, and traveling on family reunions with Dotty’s sisters and their families. They moved to Heritage Retirement Community together, where they appreciated being surrounded by many supportive caretakers and friends.
The couple were active members of the First United Methodist Church in downtown Kalamazoo. While Ernie served the congregation coffee and donuts every Sunday morning, Dotty served as a Sunday school teacher, a member of the United Methodist Women and Anna’s Circle, worked annually on the Merchandise Mart, and even took the course to become a Stephen Minister helping to counsel others in need at the age of 85.
The ultimate bird lover, Dotty even decorated her Christmas tree entirely in bird ornaments. She found joy in drinking a cup of black coffee and burying her nose in a good book. She loved to socialize with her friends, whether they were attending a show at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, taking in the sounds of classical music at the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, or bobbing in the pool during a water aerobics class at the YMCA. She enjoyed knitting and crocheting, putting together puzzles, cooking and baking, and working in her garden. Dotty was a dedicated member of PEO, an organization that supports furthering women’s education.
Dotty was preceded in death by her husband Ernest, sister Carol Arterburn, daughter Molly Spicuzza, and son-in-laws Robert Morrison, Stephen Dopp, and David Arnold. Surviving Dotty is her sister Marilyn Carrel, her children Wendy (Hook, Morrison, Dopp) Arnold and David (Kim) Hook; her grandchildren Eric (Amanda) Hook, Adrienne (Santiago) Berdichevsky, Melissa (Michael) Newton, Hannah Spicuzza, Christopher Hook, and Jeremy Hook; and her great-grandchildren Mason Hook, Maya Newton, Logan Hook, Alex Berdichevsky, Ava Newton, Ryker Newton, Juniper Berdichevsky, and Lydia Hook.
