Dorothy Turner Jones

Dorothy Ann Turner was the first-born child of Thomas Dudley and Olive Myrtle Turner, entering the world on December 28th,1933, in Jackson, Mississippi. Dotti grew up in a loving Southern Baptist household, and was very Christ centered in her life. She was the oldest granddaughter on her mother's side, and for 15 years, the only grandchild on her father's side. She had a strong sense of family, and a self-determined, independent mind.

Dotti's childhood was spent in the Washington, D.C. area, southern Mississippi, and San Diego. She lived briefly on a rural farm environment when she was a pre-teen, getting into lots of healthy mischief with her cousins. Her adolescence was spent in San Diego, where her father owned and operated the Jensen Printing Co. For a short time the family lived in the back of the print shop until they could find a house to rent, after all, this was a military town and housing was not always easy to come by. During these days, Dotti enjoyed riding her bicycle with friends all around San Diego, which was then full of orange groves. Although, she did not have a natural ear for music, she taught herself to sing, and learned to play the piano and organ through determination, and a mathematical approach.

Dotti was on the Girl's Tennis Team at Herbert Hoover High School. She also enjoyed Art Class, as well as, tumbling (what is now known as gymnastics), and was particularly gifted in sculpture and painting. One of her first jobs was in a San Diego library. Her early goals were to be a librarian or a children's book illustrator. She was a member of Youth For Christ, and made many friends through this organization.

Dotti's lifetime love of painting continued, with many of her pieces till gracing family and friends' homes and offices. Dotti loved the outdoors, and her painting reflected the landscapes, flowers, and birds she so greatly admired.

Dotti was a teenager when her parents adopted a young child, Nancy (Nan) Lee Turner (DeChant). The sisters were close Dotti's entire life, and good fun could always be counted on when the girls were together.

Dotti met her husband-to-be while she was in high school. Barrett Glenn Jones was in the Navy. When he docked in San Diego and contacted Dotti's parents, he was invited to dinner. Dotti's first reaction was that, "good girls didn't hang out with sailors", but her Mom told her that this was a man that their family back east knew, and she was to be nice to Glenn. As her Mom told the story, Dotti's parents fell in love with Glenn before Dotti did. Glenn and Dotti were married after her high school graduation, June 29,1952.

As a young Navy wife, Dotti and Glenn moved several times (and typically went bowling right after unpacking necessities in a new place). After Glenn's discharge, they lived on the Jones family farm in Parma, Missouri. Glenn's parents, Scott and Nettie Mae, lived next door. Glenn's sister, Chlora and her husband, Jim lived just beyond Glenn's parents. All the men in the family farmed. Dotti took an interest in 4H with a pioneering spirit, kept a vegetable garden, and wasn't afraid to learn about and try new things. She raised a new breed of chickens and got top dollar for their eggs, much to the vexation of her mother-in-law. She was active in her church, including pot luck dinners, where she proudly shared "California" dishes, such as tamale pie, chicken enchiladas and refried beans.

In 1959, upon leaving the farm life, Glenn and Dotti moved to Vista, California, where they bought their first house, and adopted their son, Michael Timothy Jones, born March 23, 1960. Michael was only 10 days old when Glenn and Dotti brought him home, and a no more jubilant moment for her existed than that day. Dotti demonstrated her true calling as a loving mother to this precious baby boy. Glenn and Dotti were early members of the Vista Baptist Church that Dotti's maternal grandfather started many years prior. She also took a special interest in sewing clothes for herself, and painstakingly creating Halloween costumes for Michael. Although Dotti's mother was a tailor, it was her grandmother who'd taught her to sew.

After a job change for Glenn, they relocated to the San Diego area where Dotti taught piano and eventually became a transcriber for the San Diego Juvenile Courts. Eventually, Dotti went on to be instrumental in the early stages of data processing for the Juvenile Probation Department, entering the criminal statistics for the department and juvenile courts use. Glenn and Dotti were early members of Del Cerro Baptist Church, participating in everything from leading the Youth Group to putting up the church signage.

In 1970, Glenn took a job with the Fresno (California) branch of the Internal Revenue Service. The family moved to a rental house with a unique floor plan which they all loved. With Michael in school, Dotti filled her days, as the executive secretary of the California Southern Baptist Association.

While in Fresno, the family especially enjoyed their drives up to Kings Canyon, where they would find a spot (picnic sites and tables optional) and have a picnic. It didn't matter if the sun was shining or not, if it was a pretty spot and there was nuts, cheese, crackers, apples and a thermos of tea, the makings were there for a picnic. Oh, how Dotti loved a picnic! She would find any excuse to have one...more on the blackout picnic later.

Dotti possessed a good sense of direction, which she passed on to Michael, navigating easily around known and unknown cities, and improvising shortcuts that always worked out.

When Glenn was offered a promotion with the IRS, the family agreed to move to Greensboro, North Carolina. Their house in Greensboro had a basement, which was a lovely family hangout, complete with fireplace. Dotti enjoyed games with her family – dominoes, cards, puzzles, etc. - which she frequently won. She sewed curtains for the living room and recovered furniture. She enjoyed needlework projects such as crochet, cross-stitch, and needlepoint, and used her artist's eye to change colors in the patterns to make personalized items for her home, as well as family gifts. Dotti was so creative that when she couldn't find the right color of toilet seat cover for her bathroom, she crocheted one.

Dotti enjoyed the fall colors, and loved going to Hanging Rock State Park to watch the squirrels, keep track of birds she spotted in her Audubon diary, and picnic. Dotti enjoyed planning, shopping, and cooking for family events. She could not only set an elegant table, but could turn a Snackin' Cake into something special by adding her own secret frosting. Anyone who knew Dotti, knew that she was rarely without a cup of hot tea in hand. One Christmas, someone surprised her with a teapot, and the collection wave began! She had over 75 before crying, "no more teapots, please!"

Two years after Michael left home for college, he and June Young were married. Dotti welcomed June into the family generously, and enjoyed treating both of "her kids" to little gifts they wanted or needed, delighting in their happiness. While she had taught Michael to believe in his dreams, she was now a wonderful role model for June.

Dotti and Glenn moved back to San Diego after Glenn retired. This allowed them to live close to Dotti's parents, Tom and Myrtle. They bought a mobile home in a senior-living park and resumed their attendance and membership at Del Cerro Baptist Church. Dotti taught Sunday School, and later became the Bookkeeper/Financial Manager for the church office until retirement age. During this time, her sister Nan, husband, Tom, and nephew Cris, lived a couple of hours north of San Diego. Always during weekends, holidays, etc., the whole family would get together to celebrate special occasions or just enjoy time together.

During one particular Christmas time, Dotti thought it would be a great idea to picnic down at the bay and watch the decorated boats cruise by. Well, to make things easy, Nan and Dotti decided El Pollo Loco would be an easy picnic meal, so off everyone went down to the bay. As the family arrived, it was dusk, but by the time everyone was seated on the blankets, the dusk became pitch black, the wind came up and the temperature dropped, and then dropped some more. It was so dark and cold, with no flashlights, that no one could see what was available to eat, let alone where it was. Needless to say, Dotti never lived that picnic down, but she never let a little dark or cold squelch her desire for a picnic.

After the death of Dotti's parents, which affected her deeply, Dotti and Glenn moved to Sunnyvale, California, allowing them to be near Michael and June. By this time, Dotti had been diagnosed with cognitive impairment. Over the next 10 years, Dotti progressed through the devastating phases of Alzheimer's disease. At first, still a determined individual, but confused about what was happening to her, until the final years of skilled nursing at Manor Care of Sunnyvale.

A much loved daughter, wife, mother, sister and aunt. How thrilled she would have been to learn she will become a great-aunt in July, 2017.

Dotti and her sister, Nan, always said they had been raised an only child, but it didn't matter that they were 15 years apart. The two of them would be out shopping and people would comment on how much the two of them resembled one another. Fair skin, freckles, dark hair (thank you, Lady Clairol) and those Turner blue eyes. In addition, they both shared the same senses of humor that often times rewarded them with a glare from their mother.

One of the most precious remembrances Nan has of Dotti is her love of birds. Dotti loved lapel pins, and if it was a bird pin, all the better. Being the artist she was, Dotti wanted a unique way to display her bird pins, so on graph paper she sketched out a simple design of a tree with a few branches. She created a cross stitch bell pull on which to attach her pins, it always hung by the side of the dresser in her and Glenn's bedroom.

When Michael and June were cleaning out Dotti's art space, they asked Nan what she would like to have or could use from the space. Nan let them know that if they came across the pattern of the bell pull she would love to have it to frame for her quilter's studio. After a period of time a box arrived from their efforts. Nan opened the box to discover the pattern tucked away in a manila folder. As she continued to discover books and other items, she found they had shipped the actual bell pull with pins attached.

Up until her last breath, Dotti was an artist, musician, and Biblical student, but the Alzheimer's kept it locked away for the last years of her life. However, her love, artistic talents and the fond memories she left will remain with all who knew and loved her.

Dotti passed quietly away the morning of February 25th, 2017, where she now rejoices in the God she knew and loved.