Mrs. Dorothy Lea Douglas-Paxton

Dorothy moved to California at the age of five and settled in Sanger with her family. As a young girl, she picked cotton in the valley fields to help her family survive. She went on to attend Fresno State College where she met her first husband, Don Douglas. They married in 1953 and had two children, David and Danette. Dorothy returned to college, earning an MBA degree and becoming a Registered Nurse, following her calling of providing care and comfort for others. Her first husband passed in 1980.

Dorothy met and married Jim Paxton in 1984. Jim, a building contractor, would help her realize her childhood dream of building a home on the same land that she had worked as a young girl, land that she would remain on for the rest of her life. Jim passed in 2006.

Dorothy always placed the needs of others above her own. She was a caretaker of her family, her patients, her friends, and the land that she loved so much. Her greatest joys in life were her family and working in her garden, nurturing both with love and support as they grew and flourished with the help of her loving hand. She was courageous and deeply loved by all who knew her.

She is preceded in death by her first husband, Donald Douglas; her second husband, Jim Paxton; her brother, Clyde Sisemore; and her sister, Bernice Flores.

She is survived by her son, David Douglas; daughter, Danette Thompson; stepsons, Richard Paxton, Michael Paxton, and Steve Paxton; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A Graveside Service will be held at Red- banks Cemetery, Clovis, on Monday, September 13, 2010, at 11:00 a.m.