Obituary for Dorothy McAuley (Watt)
Dorothy (Watt) McAuley died peacefully on Thursday, February 27, 2020 with family by her side. She was 93.
A woman of strong Catholic faith, Dorothy is now reunited with her beloved husband, Alf, who predeceased her in 2011 after 63 years of marriage. She will be deeply missed by her devoted children Kathy (Bernie MacKay), Tom (Esther), Pat (Leslie), Andy (Patsy), Jim (Marjorie), Sharon (Brian Kendall) and Dan (Jill). She is the cherished grandmother of 16 and great-grandmother of 11. Dorothy leaves behind her dear sister, Margaret Cronce (late Norm), brothers Bruce Watt (Judy) and Gerry Tilson (Dianne), and brother-in-law Frank McAuley (late Ann). She is the much loved aunt and great aunt to many nieces and nephews from the extended Boucher, Lavergne, Lucas, McAuley, Piccolo, Roby, Shami, Tilson, Williamson and Watt families. She was predeceased by her parents, Archibald Watt and Borghild Watt Tilson, and her brother Jim Watt and his wife Kathy.
Dorothy dedicated her life to caring for and nurturing others. Family and faith were at the heart of it all. She and our Dad created a loving, supportive environment that encouraged each of us to strive to be our best selves. Through their example, we learned how important it is to care for others and to give back to our community. It’s no wonder many of us entered helping professions—it was in our DNA.
From her earliest nursing training (Harper Hospital School of Nursing, 1947) and service in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps, through to her later years working at the F.J. Davey Home, Dorothy was a proud and dedicated Registered Nurse. She was active in the Ontario Nurses Association for many years, and after retirement enjoyed a monthly nurses’ luncheon with her former Davey Home colleagues. She continued to stay current with the latest medical news and treatments until the very end.
Raising seven kids was a full-time job, but Dorothy always found time to volunteer. She was active on the PTA in the early years, and later shared her empathy and active listening skills as a volunteer for a crisis hotline, Telecare, and then as a 13-year volunteer at Victim Services of Algoma. She was a 50+ year member of the Catholic Women’s League. She cherished her weekly meeting with her neighbourhood prayer group from the parish of St. Joseph the Worker and later Holy Family Church—the faith and friendship of these women over the past 44 years meant the world to her.
Dorothy was—and will continue to be—an inspiration to all who knew her. A lifelong learner, she fed her intelligence and curiosity through voracious reading and study. She became a financial whiz, provided her own computer tech support, developed advanced photography skills, and gave the contestants on Jeopardy a run for their money. She followed current events with interest and enjoyed wide-ranging conversations. She went to her gym on a regular basis well into her 80's. She was fiercely independent, decisive and pragmatic, and met every challenge head on.
We’ll miss her loving kindness and wisdom. In our deepest sorrow, we take comfort in her words when things were bad, “This too shall pass.”
Our family would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the many caring people who helped Dorothy over the past few years: her neighbours on Roosevelt Avenue for their kindness, the librarians at Korah Branch for their warm welcome, We Care and March of Dimes PSWs for their home support, and the medical professionals who cared for Mom through her illness: Dr. Michele Cheong, Dr. Rishi Ghosh, Dr. Robert Maloney, the nursing teams and support staff in Sault Area Hospital ICU, 3A and 2A and the team at Extendicare Maple View Tunnel Lake wing.
Friends and family may call at O’Sullivan Funeral home, at the corner of Cathcart Street and St. James Street, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 5 – 8 p.m.. Funeral mass at Holy Family Parish, 208 Prentice Avenue, Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Boguslaw Jaroszek officiating. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Dorothy’s name to Covenant House, a youth charity she supported for years.
A woman of strong Catholic faith, Dorothy is now reunited with her beloved husband, Alf, who predeceased her in 2011 after 63 years of marriage. She will be deeply missed by her devoted children Kathy (Bernie MacKay), Tom (Esther), Pat (Leslie), Andy (Patsy), Jim (Marjorie), Sharon (Brian Kendall) and Dan (Jill). She is the cherished grandmother of 16 and great-grandmother of 11. Dorothy leaves behind her dear sister, Margaret Cronce (late Norm), brothers Bruce Watt (Judy) and Gerry Tilson (Dianne), and brother-in-law Frank McAuley (late Ann). She is the much loved aunt and great aunt to many nieces and nephews from the extended Boucher, Lavergne, Lucas, McAuley, Piccolo, Roby, Shami, Tilson, Williamson and Watt families. She was predeceased by her parents, Archibald Watt and Borghild Watt Tilson, and her brother Jim Watt and his wife Kathy.
Dorothy dedicated her life to caring for and nurturing others. Family and faith were at the heart of it all. She and our Dad created a loving, supportive environment that encouraged each of us to strive to be our best selves. Through their example, we learned how important it is to care for others and to give back to our community. It’s no wonder many of us entered helping professions—it was in our DNA.
From her earliest nursing training (Harper Hospital School of Nursing, 1947) and service in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps, through to her later years working at the F.J. Davey Home, Dorothy was a proud and dedicated Registered Nurse. She was active in the Ontario Nurses Association for many years, and after retirement enjoyed a monthly nurses’ luncheon with her former Davey Home colleagues. She continued to stay current with the latest medical news and treatments until the very end.
Raising seven kids was a full-time job, but Dorothy always found time to volunteer. She was active on the PTA in the early years, and later shared her empathy and active listening skills as a volunteer for a crisis hotline, Telecare, and then as a 13-year volunteer at Victim Services of Algoma. She was a 50+ year member of the Catholic Women’s League. She cherished her weekly meeting with her neighbourhood prayer group from the parish of St. Joseph the Worker and later Holy Family Church—the faith and friendship of these women over the past 44 years meant the world to her.
Dorothy was—and will continue to be—an inspiration to all who knew her. A lifelong learner, she fed her intelligence and curiosity through voracious reading and study. She became a financial whiz, provided her own computer tech support, developed advanced photography skills, and gave the contestants on Jeopardy a run for their money. She followed current events with interest and enjoyed wide-ranging conversations. She went to her gym on a regular basis well into her 80's. She was fiercely independent, decisive and pragmatic, and met every challenge head on.
We’ll miss her loving kindness and wisdom. In our deepest sorrow, we take comfort in her words when things were bad, “This too shall pass.”
Our family would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the many caring people who helped Dorothy over the past few years: her neighbours on Roosevelt Avenue for their kindness, the librarians at Korah Branch for their warm welcome, We Care and March of Dimes PSWs for their home support, and the medical professionals who cared for Mom through her illness: Dr. Michele Cheong, Dr. Rishi Ghosh, Dr. Robert Maloney, the nursing teams and support staff in Sault Area Hospital ICU, 3A and 2A and the team at Extendicare Maple View Tunnel Lake wing.
Friends and family may call at O’Sullivan Funeral home, at the corner of Cathcart Street and St. James Street, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 5 – 8 p.m.. Funeral mass at Holy Family Parish, 208 Prentice Avenue, Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Boguslaw Jaroszek officiating. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Dorothy’s name to Covenant House, a youth charity she supported for years.