OBITUARY
DOROTHY EDNA WHITAKER JANUARY 26, 1945 TO JANUARY 13, 2026
Dorothy Edna Whitaker was born in Hudson, New York to Bessie Irene Marriott Whitaker and Loren James Whitaker. She joined siblings Betty June (1940) and Ellen Irene (1942), and Loren James Jr. completed the family (1946). She and her sisters are members of the DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution. Named after her mother’s friend, Dorothy Goodrich, her middle name was her paternal grandmother’s name, Edna Luella Scudder Whitaker. Her initials, DEW, earned her the nickname Dewdrop.
She played flute and piccolo in many organizations, and her beautiful contralto voice earned her acclaim as a church and wedding soloist and valued chorus member. Even in her last days, she remembered the words to “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” and hymns of the church.
She studied Early Childhood Education, Occupational Therapy, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. She worked in Wassaic State Institution where she assisted people with handicapping conditions. Her patience and ingenuity in creating adaptive equipment made her a valuable member of the staff. She developed lifelong friendships with people in the upstate New York area, in musical organizations, and her Brain Games group she facilitated.
She traveled to Russia, and collected Dickens Village, antiques, and angel figurines and décor. She rescued cats and dogs and called them “her kids.”
She lived in Pine Plains, New York and was a member of the First United Presbyterian Church, continuing to worship online after moving to Florida.
Following heart surgery, she lived at Ferncliffe Archcare in Rhinebeck, New York for a year, and in 2023 moved to Florida to be near her oldest sister, Betty Whitaker Jackson and her family. Her other sister, Ellen Whitaker Conrad, who resides in West Virginia, served as her Power of Attorney, handling her finances and the sale of Dottie’s property in New York.
Dorothy resided in assisted living at Century Oaks and The Brookshire in Melbourne, Florida. She was served well at Life Care, Melbourne and Melbourne Terrace, Palm Bay. The family is grateful for her Vitas Hospice team at The Brookshire, and at their Inpatient Unit in Rockledge-Viera.
Survivors include her sisters and brothers-in-law, David Conrad and Everett Jackson, her nephews William, James, and Andrew Kirk, Paul Jackson, and niece, Nancy Jackson.
Memorial gifts may be sent to animal shelters and to the First United Presbyterian Church of Pine Plains, New York in her honor.
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