Dorothy was born September 16, 1921, to Richard and Maude Madison Johns in Portia, Arkansas. Her childhood in the Great Depression, like many of her generation, made a lifelong impression. After graduating from Portia High School, she went to Little Rock where she worked in a defense factory. Seeking more adventure for a young woman from a small Arkansas town, she went west to San Francisco. She was soon employed as “Dorothy the welder” at the Richmond shipyards, building Liberty ships for the war effort. She met her future husband, Carl Beyer, at the Richmond shipyards. They danced to all the big bands of their day, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Guy Lombardo. They married in San Francisco in 1944.
Following the war, Dorothy and Carl had two sons, Carl and Scott. Soon after their second son’s birth, they moved to Spokane, Washington, but eventually made their home in Richland. Before her sons reached their college years, Dorothy returned to work as a secretary and administrative assistant at the Atomic Energy Commission, later the Department of Energy. Dorothy was active in the Cub Scouts as a den mother and the PTA, and as a member of Richland Lutheran Church and the Daughters of the Nile. After retiring, Dorothy was able to travel throughout the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Although the trip she enjoyed and talked about the most was an Alaskan cruise she organized for the entire family. She also volunteered for her church and at Heartlinks Hospice and Palliative Care in Richland. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband Carl, her sister, Mary Elizabeth Barnes, and her great grandson, Jackson Wood. She is survived by her two sons, Carl (Jane) and Scott (Lynn), six grandchildren, Jeff, Bryon, Megan, Molly and Ben Beyer and Nicole Wood, eight great grandchildren and a great, great grandson expected this month.
The family wishes to thank the many caring people Dorothy met at Living Care Retirement Community and Fieldstone Orchard West, and also Dr. Kristin Larson and her staff for their care and attention.
Family graveside services are planned for Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland.
The family suggests memorials may be made to a community nonprofit hospice program of the donor’s choice, the Parkinson’s Foundation or the donor’s favorite charity, care of Keith & Keith Funeral Home in Yakima.
