DOROTHY "DOTTIE" FRAUENHOFER

1923 - 2016

FRAUENHOFER, Dorothy "Dottie" Dorothy Othello Frauenhofer, nee Stallworth, died gracefully on Friday, July 29th after a long illness. She was 93 years old. For more than 30 years, "Dottie," as family and friends knew her, lived with her beloved husband Denis Frauenhofer at their house overlooking Onset Bay. Dottie was born in Americus, Georgia, March 1st, 1923, the second eldest of four siblings born to Elbert and Martha Stallworth. Her family moved to Alabama where her mother, Martha Johnson, walking the road less travelled, received a college degree from Tuskegee Institute in 1909. Dottie followed in her mother's footsteps, matriculating at the same university and receiving a degree in Home Economics. Soon thereafter, Dorothy met Milton Lemmons, a gunnery trainer for the Tuskegee Airmen. They were married in 1943 on Tuskegee Army Airfield and later moved to St. Louis where they had three children, Adrienne Lemmons, Cheryl Lemmons and Karen ("Kasi") Lemmons. Imbued with her mother's spirit, Dorothy pursued her career interest receiving a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Washington University in 1963. She moved to Boston with her two youngest daughters following her divorce from Milton in 1967. Armed with her ambition, Dottie went on to earn a degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Boston University. In 1969 she met Denis Frauenhofer, a mathematician, and together they formed a bond which allowed them each to grow and pursue their goals; Denis going to law school and becoming a criminal lawyer, while Dottie earned her doctorate from Harvard University in Planning and Social Policy in Consulting Psychology. Dr. Dorothy Frauenhofer started her own practice and worked for over thirty-five years as a Psychologist offering broad-based clinical and consulting experiences to a variety of institutions and organizations. Her numerous speaking engagements and media appearances include The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, New England Today and Essence Magazine to name a few. Her public spirit led to several board memberships, including the Health Planning Council of Boston and the Human Rights Commission Advisory Board. Dorothy retired from private practice in 1996 to help her youngest daughter, Kasi Lemmons, who was set to direct her first film, "Eve's Bayou", after the birth of her first child. Taking full advantage of retirement, Dottie and Denis became avid theatergoers and traveled extensively to countries including Canada, China and even Cuba, before it was cool or legal to do so. In retirement, Dottie also pursued another life-long passion, writing. She was lead writer in a chapter of 'Ourselves Growing Older,' circulated by the Boston Women's Book Collective, author of several short stories and poems as well as a novel, "Castles of Deferred Dreams," published in 2011. Dottie is survived by her daughters, Kasi Lemmons and Adrienne Dillon, her grandchildren, Michael Patrick Dillon, Zoe Lauren Dixon, Henry Hunter Hall, Zora Gillian Hall and Sky Alexandra Lemmons Dixon, her sons-in law, Vondie Curtis-Hall and David Dillon, her niece, Margo Sanabria and her nephew, Barry Hale. She lost her beloved daughter Cheryl to cancer in 2011 and the love of her life, Denis, in 2012. At Dottie's request, there will not be services or calling hours. The family suggests that a Tribute Gift in her memory be made to Alzheimer's Foundation of America.

View the online memorial for Dorothy "Dottie" FRAUENHOFER