DOROTHY LeBAR

LeBAR, DOROTHY RUTH SOWTER Dorothy Ruth Sowter LeBar, 92, passed away peacefully on August 5th, 2014 at Elim Park in Cheshire, CT. Dorothy was born on September 6, 1921, in Brooklyn, NY and moved with her family to Hagerstown, MD in 1935. She majored in Math and Chemistry at Western Maryland College (B.A. cum laude 1943) and earned her Master’s degree in Nursing from Yale School of Nursing in 1949. In between, she joined the navy and served as an Aerographer’s mate, Second Class. She met Frank LeBar while they were both attending Yale, and they married in 1950. In 1954 they settled in Hamden, CT. For the next twenty five years, her priorities were raising her four children and being of service to Spring Glen Church. In 1979, Dorothy and Frank moved to Camphill Village in Copake, NY, a life-sharing community alongside adults with mental disabilities. For many years Dorothy served Camphill as their nurse. In 1991, Dorothy and Frank moved to Santa Fe, NM and tried to retire. They both loved the high desert southwest, the people they met, the wide open skies and the lizards and jackrabbits who shared their yard. Dorothy became very active in the United Church of Santa Fe. However, in 1998 they heard the call to continue their tradition of service to those who truly needed the many things they still had to offer. They returned to Camphill Village where they shared their love and talents with that remarkable community until Frank’s death in 2007. Dorothy was steadfast, full of faith, goodwill, compassion and curiosity, and appreciative of all things tidy and organized. She also had a great capacity for adventure and travel. In 1964, when Yale University asked Frank to go to Thailand on a year long anthropology research trip, she packed up the four children (ages 12, 10, 8 and 2) and went with him. Her passport was stamped in London, Hong Kong, Thailand, Switzerland, Lebanon, Syria and Italy. She and Frank tried out camping while driving cross-country – both in their mid-70’s, in a small pup tent. She learned how to drive a golf cart at age 87 while attending summer camp at Geneva Point Center, NH. She loved roses, chocolate, coffee, music, good conversation, knitting, games of pinochle, puzzles, dogs, and the beach. Dorothy was proud to be one of the first volunteers at The Connecticut Hospice in Branford, CT when it opened in the early 1970s. Above all, she was passionate about being useful, living in community and helping others. Dorothy has now joined many family members and friends in God’s own home; her beloved son Ben who died in 1982, her husband Frank, her brother Richard (Dick), and her sister Jeanne. She leaves on earth her son Peter & his wife Amelia, daughter Ruth & her husband Chuck, daughter Beth, grand-dog Nizhoni, grandson Ben & his wife Michele and great-grand daughters Julia and Tessa, her dear friend and sister-in-law Dottie, her nieces Linda, Sue and Diane and nephew Paul and their families. Countless friends and neighbors as well will be remembering her and missing her welcoming smile and warm presence. A memorial service in celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held at Spring Glen Church, 1825 Whitney Ave. Hamden, CT on October 18, 2014 at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions will be appreciated to Camphill Village Development Office, 84 Camphill Rd., Copake NY 12516 www.camphillvillage.org, to Spring Glen Church www.springglenchurch.org or to a charitable organization of your choice.