Dorothy Virginia Monroe

The truth.  “She’s a pistol!”  Those are the words of one of her recent nurses.  And she absolutely was.

The facts. Dorothy Virginia Williams Monroe went to meet her Lord and Savior on Sunday, January 10th, 2021; exactly six months before her 94th birthday… (cough, cough) make that her 39th birthday.   Born on July 10, 1927 to Andrew F. Williams and Virginia A. Farley, she grew up and spent all of her life, most happily, in Pocatello, truly her home, sweet home.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward G. Monroe, her mother Virginia and father Andrew, and her sister, Joyce Capstick of California. She is survived by her children, Kathy Thomas, Boise ID; Alan E. (Karen) Monroe, Lewiston ID; Andrew D. (Donna) Monroe of Pocatello; and Becky S. Boren of Pocatello.  She is very lovingly remembered by her 11 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren with another on the way, and one great-great grandchild.  She also leaves a brother Don (Jan) Williams of Salt Lake City, UT, and many nieces, nephews and their children.

The important things.  Dorothy lived and loved with passion.   Her favorite part of life was her family, which was her number one priority.   She married her childhood sweetheart, Ed, on December 29, 1945.  Ed was in the war at the time, and took leave and came home for a week just to get married and they started their family a couple years later. After her first two children, Kathy and Alan, she went to work for the Bannock Hotel as a switchboard operator.  She and Ed worked different hours so that one of them would always be with their children.  She then decided to work as a banquet hostess/waitress, also in the Bannock Hotel, and gained many friends and acquaintances there.  She worked there for many years until it closed.  Eventually she found herself waitressing at Remo’s Italian Restaurant.  While all of the other waitresses were in their 20’s and 30’s, Dorothy worked there while in her 50’s and 60’s.  She wasn’t bothered one bit by having to wear the “uniform” of hot pants and a t-shirt.  She donned nylons under her shorts and her Remo’s issued t-shirt and proudly continued waitressing until she retired.

Probably the only reason she retired was because she had so many other things to do and was quite popular.  She played pinochle weekly with a group of lady friends for 60 years, continuing until just a few months before her passing, as well as a weekly date with, “The Lunch Bunch,” for many years with her dear childhood friends, Janielle Dahmer and Jean Stratton.  She was always happy to play Scrabble, and played many games of Authors, Bingo, and others, with her children and grandchildren. A quick trip to Vegas to play the slot machines was something she was always up for. She developed an interest in writing so took a class in it.  She happily worked on genealogy and helped others with theirs.  She enthusiastically entered baking and other contests and was a winner in Taste of Home magazine, Betty Crocker, and a local contest in the Idaho State Journal.  She loved travelling, took five trips to Europe, and was always thinking about where else she wanted to go. Her favorite trip, to England, as she had an English heritage, was so enjoyable to her that she wrote a letter to the Queen, telling her how wonderful her visit was and thanking Her Royal Highness for such a wonderful country. That pleasure was compounded by a return letter from – “the Queen.”   The great belly laughs when stories are told of the many camping and fishing trips in the Stanley/Redfish lake area, can attest to her joy for life and family.  In addition to the trips to the Salmon River are the nearly-every-weekend trips to the Blackfoot Reservoir, where her husband Ed and her boys built a cabin that they spent many hours at and has been passed down and remains in her family.  Something Dorothy was famous for was writing every single person who ever gave her anything, a heartfelt and personal thank you note.

To sum it up.  Dorothy Virginia Williams always saw the bright side; she was a cheerful, happy, positive person, and gracious and loving to many.  She loved her life.  Some of her final words were given to one of the hospital doctors, when he asked her if her heart were to stop, if she wanted to be revived.  Her response was absolutely typical of her.  “Hell, yes!” with a look at him as if he were stupid for asking.

Our family would like to acknowledge the physical therapy care and assistance of Encompass Home Health, in particular, Dorothy’s newest friend who she couldn’t wait to see each week, Heidi Greenup.  Thank you, Encompass, and thank you Heidi, for caring for our dear mother, in spite of the feisty grilling questions she gave everyone during the initial visits.  We deeply appreciate you all.

There will be a celebration of life for Dorothy on her birthday, July 10th, this coming summer, and a notice of that will be forthcoming closer to that date.