Dorothy Jean Auldridge Smith, 80, of Bee Branch, Arkansas, passed away Tuesday, April 6, 2021, after a battle with cancer.
Born at Buckeye, she was a daughter of the late John Auldridge and Mattie Burgess Auldridge.
Dorothy graduated from Marlinton High School in 1958 and joined the Army in 1960, as a nurse. She was stationed in Columbia, South Carolina, Virginia, Alaska and Okinawa. While stationed in Okinawa during the Vietnam War, she took care of wounded soldiers. Dorothy was honorably discharged in 1969 and came home to live with family in West Virginia.
In 1973, she wanted to be adventurous and traveled to Colorado with her family, where she enjoyed camping and picking fruit.
Dorothy liked music, sewing clothes and making quilts, gardening, planting flowers and riding bicycles. She also did a lot of walking – as many as 12 to 14 miles a day.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Norman Auldridge and Denver Auldridge; and two sisters, Florence Woods and Ruth Burke.
She is survived by two sons, Joshua (Amy) Smith, of Bismark, North Dakota, and and Jack Smith Jr., of Hammond, Louisiana; two sisters: Flora Lovelace, of Hotchkiss, Colorado, and Cora Kelton, of Terry, Georgia; and three grandchildren, Ty, Kyra and Baylee Smith, of Bismark, North Dakota.
A graveside service with military honors will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, April 23, 2021, at Riverside Cemetery in Hotchkiss, Colorado.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your local cancer society. Condolences can be sent to Jack Smith Jr. and Joshua Smith, c/o Flora Lovelace, PO Box 2054, Hotchkiss, CO 81419.
