Dorothy Alice Smith

Dorothy Alice Smith passed away peacefully on June 6, 2015. She was 94. Dorothy was a resident of Carmel for 40 years. She was well known in town for walking her beloved dogs and “shooing” tourists out of her way. She was in a word, a character; part of the local color. Her life’s journey began in London, England, where she was born the third of five children. Always talented with a needle and thread, she apprenticed at age 14 to a French dressmaker in London where she picked up pins and did menial tasks. It didn’t take long to work her way up and eventually become a master dressmaker for a designer who designed clothes for the royal family. When WWII came along, in order to support the war effort, she made sailor uniforms in the window of Harrods department store in London. She then joined the Women’s Air Corp. One of her duties was to raise Barrage Balloons over London to impede enemy airplanes during the Battle of Britain. During that time she met her wonderful husband Joe; a survivor himself of forty missions over Germany as a decorated Pathfinder in a Lancaster Bomber. At the end of the war, they were married. Not long afterwards, along came twin girls, Mary and Katherine, for whom she made beautiful clothes. In 1957, the family immigrated to the United States and settled in West Los Angeles.

Eventually, Dorothy and Joe moved to Carmel to be near family. It was then that she began making her original teddy bears and other collectibles. She participated in many local arts and craft shows, particularly the Carmel Crafters annual show. She had quite a following and her teddy bears sit on many beds worldwide. Sadly, macular degeneration eventually took her eyesight. Always full of energy and strong opinions, she soldiered on for ten years. She considered herself a Londoner and never lost her British accent. She is predeceased by husband Joe, her daughter Mary and many, much loved dogs. She is survived by daughter Katherine (Bruce Choate), son-in-law J. Jerome Moiso (Judith), grandsons J.J. Moiso, Blake Choate (Catlin), Ewan Choate, and great grandson, Ruckus Ernie Choate, as well as her older sister Ethne Thomas, 96, who lives in England.

Dorothy was feisty, uncompromising, generous and fun. Shine on Dorothy Alice Smith, you were an original.

In lieu of flowers, Dorothy would have liked donations to be made to the SPCA of Monterey County, P.O. Box 3058 Monterey, Ca. 93942. On line: www.spcamc.org.