1920-2008

A Mass of Christian Burial was held in Traverse City for Dorothy Alicia Gauthier of Traverse City, who died Dec. 11 at Grand Traverse Pavilions. She was 88.

She was born Sept. 30, 1920 in Provemont (Lake Leelanau) to Joseph and Cecilia Priest. On July 3, 1940, she married Frank Gauthier at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lake Leelanau.

She and her husband raised their family in Traverse City with the exception of four years while living in Muskegon during World War II. They retired to Barefoot Bay in Sebastian, Fla., in 1982 and returned to Traverse City in 2001 to be close to their family.

She graduated from St. Mary School in 1939, and was primarily a homemaker who also worked part-time at Ace Hardware, Carrol’s Cottons, The Bobbin Shop and Boyd’s Sewing Center in Traverse City. She was a longtime active member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, especially the Alter Society and St. Joseph’s Circle. In Florida, she was a member of the firemen’s auxiliary and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. She enjoyed sewing, knitting and playing bridge.

She is survived by her husband; a daughter, Ann Bixby of Traverse City; a son, Glenn (Gary Woodhams) Gauthier of Traverse City; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be directed to the rank and Dorothy Gauthier Endowed Scholarship Fund at St. Mary School, or to Grand Traverse Pavilions/Maple Unit.