Dorothy Frank Galleher, longtime resident of Ocean Shores, passed away peacefully at Garden Courte Memory Care in Olympia on Jan. 27, 2017, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She was smart, talented and kind; her family, friends and caregivers loved her very much.
Dorothy was born in Seattle to Laura Shaw Denison and John Austin Frank. Her father worked as an electrician for Seattle City Light, and Dorothy spent her early years in Cedar Falls, Washington, attending a one-room schoolhouse and being a tomboy. Her family moved back to Seattle where Dorothy graduated from Queen Anne High School. Her father was the chief electrician at the Civic Auditorium and the Ice Arena (later part of Seattle Center) and her mother played pipe organ at the Ice Arena, so Dorothy got to see all the shows and spent her after school hours ice-skating. She had fond memories of those days.
After graduating from high school, she was accepted to art school in Chicago, but chose a different path. She married her first husband in 1947, and divorced him soon after, but was blessed with a daughter, Cheryl Ann Pountain, who passed away in 1968. She met the love of her life, Jerry Galleher, in a bar in 1954. She had been horseback riding, but he had a broken nose and didn’t know that she smelled like horses. It was love at first sight; they eloped later that year. In 1970, they were blessed with a daughter, Jennifer. The family moved from Seattle to Bremerton and, finally, to Ocean Shores in 1977. They owned Tom & Jerry’s Building Center until the mid-1990s.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Zoe Holman; her daughter Cheryl; and her husband of 62 years, Jerry, who passed away in June. She is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Vroom; her sister-in-law, Joyce Galleher; her nephew Blaine Galleher (Kim); and niece Gail Galleher (Frank Flavin).
In her early years, Dorothy enjoyed ice skating, horseback riding, and skiing. She had a lifelong passion for art: drawing, painting, fashion design, sewing, and quilting. She loved to garden; even in her 80s, and with a bad hip, she couldn’t stop gardening. She was inordinately proud of a first place ribbon in driftwood sculpture in the Associated Arts of Ocean Shores art show. Together, she and Jerry remodeled or built every house they ever owned. She loved interior design and traveling throughout the U.S. Until her illness, she was a devoted member of Galilean Lutheran Church and the Ocean Shores Dixieland Jazz Society.
A memorial service will be held at Galilean Lutheran Church on Sunday, Feb. 18, at 2:30 p.m. All are welcome. Remembrances may be made to the North Beach PAWS, Habitat for Humanity, The Arthritis Foundation, or the Alzheimer’s Association. Please sign the guestbook at Butterworth Funeral Home, Seattle, Wash.
