In Memory Of
Dorothy D. Gatchell
1921
2014
Dorothy D. Gatchell
August 8, 1921 — October 26, 2014
Dorothy Dominick Gatchell died peacefully on Oct. 26, 2014 at Villa St. Joseph in Overland Park after a long journey through the fog of Alzheimer's disease. She is survived by her three children: Judy Peterson of Billings, MT, Kip Gatchell of Dallas, TX, and David Gatchell of Leawood, KS. She is also survived by six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The family will hold a private funeral service.
Dorothy was known to her family and friends as "Dottie," and was born in Kansas City in 1921 to Clifford and Laura Dominick. Dottie grew up with four sisters; Jane, Eleanor, Katherine and Mary on West 58th Street in Kansas City. She attended Bryant School, Southwest High School and Kansas City University. At KCU in 1939 she met the man with whom she would fall in love and marry, James Whittier Gatchell. Dottie and Jamie were married at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on Jan. 3, 1942 while Jamie was stationed at March Field with the Army Air Corps. Upon Jamie's return from service with the Eighth Air Force in England during WWII, they joined the great migration of veterans moving to Johnson County to raise families. Dottie loved to garden, and spent many happy hours tending to her roses at her Prairie Village home. When Jamie passed away in 2011, she lost her North Star, the soul to whom she had devoted herself for more than seventy years. Dottie was a pioneer for women in the residential real estate industry, joining Hardin and Stockton in 1963 and continuing with Coldwell Banker and J.C. Nichols until she was in her mid-seventies. Dottie's engaging friendliness and unflagging optimism made her many friends in the real estate business. She thoroughly enjoyed helping people find the homes they loved. Dottie was a devout Episcopalian and attended St. Andrew's Church. She was a member of the Alter Guild and a volunteer at St. Luke's Hospital. She will be cremated and interred next to Jamie in the columbarium at St. Andrew's.
God endowed Dottie with a happy, ever sunny character. She saw the best in everyone and everything. Not even the brutality of Alzheimer's disease could rob her of her smile. Her sweet nature will be missed. Not just by her loving family, who owe her so much, but also by many who had the good fortune to cross her path in this life.
Dorothy was known to her family and friends as "Dottie," and was born in Kansas City in 1921 to Clifford and Laura Dominick. Dottie grew up with four sisters; Jane, Eleanor, Katherine and Mary on West 58th Street in Kansas City. She attended Bryant School, Southwest High School and Kansas City University. At KCU in 1939 she met the man with whom she would fall in love and marry, James Whittier Gatchell. Dottie and Jamie were married at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on Jan. 3, 1942 while Jamie was stationed at March Field with the Army Air Corps. Upon Jamie's return from service with the Eighth Air Force in England during WWII, they joined the great migration of veterans moving to Johnson County to raise families. Dottie loved to garden, and spent many happy hours tending to her roses at her Prairie Village home. When Jamie passed away in 2011, she lost her North Star, the soul to whom she had devoted herself for more than seventy years. Dottie was a pioneer for women in the residential real estate industry, joining Hardin and Stockton in 1963 and continuing with Coldwell Banker and J.C. Nichols until she was in her mid-seventies. Dottie's engaging friendliness and unflagging optimism made her many friends in the real estate business. She thoroughly enjoyed helping people find the homes they loved. Dottie was a devout Episcopalian and attended St. Andrew's Church. She was a member of the Alter Guild and a volunteer at St. Luke's Hospital. She will be cremated and interred next to Jamie in the columbarium at St. Andrew's.
God endowed Dottie with a happy, ever sunny character. She saw the best in everyone and everything. Not even the brutality of Alzheimer's disease could rob her of her smile. Her sweet nature will be missed. Not just by her loving family, who owe her so much, but also by many who had the good fortune to cross her path in this life.
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