Dorothy Bella Forssell

Dorothy “Dotty” Forssell passed away Wednesday morning, April 12, 2007 after a long year battling cancer. When she had finished her fight here, she ran to heaven, very ready to meet her Lord.

Dotty was born

Sept. 10, 1931 and moved here to the island from New York after marrying her pen pal, Lyle E. Forssell, in 1959.

The two of them corresponded for years after his brother gave his address to her good friend, both in the military, serving at the same base. She flew out to meet him and the proposal followed their meeting before she flew back. They married Oct. 3, 1959 in New York and flew home to live on Whidbey Island.

Living on Deer Lake gave her nature and the land she so loved to cultivate, to grow her vegetables and flowers. She loved swimming in the lake during the hot summer months and feeding the birds and squirrels year round so she could enjoy their antics.

Dotty raised two children and worked in several restaurants on the South End and became known to several people as the “Candle Lady” after she and her husband started making candles and selling them at some of the holiday bazaars over the years. She was very active in her church for years and relied on her faith and her great sense of humor to keep her strong for the 10 years she was her husband’s caregiver, after he had several strokes.

Friends and family always enjoyed her wonderful sense of humor and always turned to her for a humorous way to view a problem.

She is survived by her husband, Lyle Forssell; her two children, William (Bill) Forssell (Vicki Forssell, daughter-in-law), Joan Hill (Dave Hill, son-in-law); granddaughters Amanda Leinen (Jeff Leinen) and Kristina Hill; her sister, Marie Vernon of Pennsylvania; her brother, William Vogt (Joyce, sister-in-law) of New Jersey; nieces, nephews and several extended family and friends.

A memorial Life Celebration will be held at her home at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 29.

Donations can be made to Hearts & Hammers (a wonderful organization that repairs and rehabilitates the homes of those physically or financially unable to do so alone on the Island), PO Box 694, Langley, WA 98260