Dorothy J. Dutt McKay

FUNERAL HOME

Schnider Funeral Home - Great Falls

1510 13th Street South

Great Falls, Montana

Dorothy McKay Obituary

Dorothy J. Dutt McKay

Great Falls - Great Falls, MT - Dorothy Jean Dutt McKay passed peacefully on December 9th, 2018 at the age of 91 following a brief illness.

Born in McMinnville, Oregon to Gordon Arthur and Fleda Thurston Dutt, she was the older of two children. Her early childhood years were spent in Des Moines, Iowa, Choteau, Montana and a Ranch on the Sun River outside of Great Falls. Dorothy was educated in the Great Falls Public school system, was a graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri and the University of Colorado in Boulder with summers of continuing education. Dorothy married and had two children. Following a divorce and relocation to Salinas, California, she enjoyed a proud career as a physical education teacher.

Upon marriage to John R. McKay in 1972, Dorothy joined John in Calgary where she spent many enjoyable years near her Canadian family and as a community volunteer & homemaker. John's career as a petroleum engineer led them to assignments in Utah & Tennessee and a return to Great Falls in 1981 for retirement.

Commitment to community involvement included a return to volunteering at The C.M. Russell Museum, the P.E.O. Sisterhood's efforts to support women's education (Chapter AR, MT & Chapter E, Calgary), The Salvation Army and Junior League. Dorothy enjoyed reading, painting, lunches with her Great Falls High Class of '46, time spent at the Meadowlark Country Club, time with her birthday club friends, communications with college roommates and a love of politics at all levels of government.

Dorothy loved Great Falls and all of Montana! Her passion for Western Art, Charlie Russell & The C. M. Russell Museum where she was a long serving docent gave her an amazing outlet for her love of learning and interacting with the public. Her final museum tour was given just days prior to her illness. As a paramount compliment from the museum, Dorothy was honored as a Josephine Trigg Award Recipient in 2016 where she recounted meeting Miss Trigg, who was then a librarian, as she helped Dorothy pick out her first library book.

Dorothy's personal doctrine was to complete no less than 8 projects a day as she took great delight in keeping an immaculate home and organization in every aspect of her personal life. Dorothy had committed to memory countless passages of poetry from Shakespeare to Robert Burns, perhaps a favorite, recited countless times to family and close friends and was the Desiderata by Max Ehrmann.

Proceeded in death by her parents, husband and sister-in-law Francis, Dorothy is survived by her brother Gordon A. "Bud"; children Stephen, Lisa; step-children John, Caroline & Mary Sue and their spouses; nephews; grandchildren & great grandchildren.

Special thanks to the caregivers at the Great Falls Clinic Hospital and especially to the beautiful caring staff at the Benefis Grandview Transitional Cottage with Hospice of Montana's involvement.

At Dorothy's request there will be no memorial service. A celebration of her life will be held at a future date.

Memorial contributions are suggested to The C. M. Russell Museum Education Fund, 400 13th Street North, Great Falls, MT 59401. (406) 727-8787. www.cmrussell.org

As often stated to everyone her life touched… "Carry On!"

Condolences for the family may be posted online at www.SchniderFuneralHome.com.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Great Falls Tribune from Dec. 12 to Dec. 16, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for Dorothy McKay

Sponsored by Schnider Funeral Home - Great Falls.

7 Entries

Marilyn F Sandperl

December 13, 2024

Still missed and loved...

Marilyn Sandperl

December 9, 2023

Marilyn Sandperl

December 9, 2023

Marilyn Sandperl

December 6, 2022

I still miss my old friend, D.J., and think about her all the time - which inevitably brings a smile to my face. I have a picture hanging of her and her husband, John, in front of one of his oil wells in Duchesne, Utah, which brought her into my life there. I will forever be grateful for her unconditional love and friendship. I've been fortunate to develop another "kinship" since D.J's passing...her daughter Lisa!!!

December 21, 2018

I would like to express my sincerest condolences for your loss. May the God of all comfort give you his peace at this very difficult time. Php 4:6,7

Marilyn Sandperl

December 17, 2018

I first met Dorothy Jean ("D.J.") when her husband, John McKay invested in some oil wells in Duchesne, Utah, and my husband was hired to work for their new company, Utex. John said, Wait till you meet my wife. I think you'll like her. How right he was! We became instant best friends, and she was also like a surrogate mother to me. She was there for me when I gave birth to my first son, and of course, she whipped up an adorable green gingham dinosaur quilt for him. There wasn't anything that D.J couldn't do! She introduced me to C.M. Russell and Michener. She taught me how to cook mushrooms, Fire and Ice tomatoes, and bran muffins. She bought me a steamer and showed me how to cook and eat my first artichoke. We spent hours macrameing around pieces of wood we found along the shores of Starvation Reservoir. I especially loved hearing stories of her days growing up on the ranch and her father's work as a doctor up in Montana. I also felt that I knew her daughter, Lisa, and her brother, Bud, because of the great stories she always shared. Her husband's work all too soon took them off to Tennessee, but our friendship had been strongly forged, and we continued to visit one another, have wonderful phone calls, and of course, yearly correspondences through the mail. I loved D.J. with all of my heart and soul, and can't picture life without her in it. I was blessed to have had her in my life for 43 years. It feels very sad right now to "carry on" without her. Dorothy Jean, thank you for your friendship and love. I'm richer for it.
Marilyn (Bowers) Sandperl
(This picture is of Dorothy Jean and John McKay standing in front of one of the oil wells he purchased, "#29," outside of Duchesne, Utah, 1976.)

Kim Kapalka

December 15, 2018

Dorothy-Jean was one of the finest, most energetic women I had the pleasure of working with at the C.M. Russell Museum. During my ten years as education and programs manager, Dorothy-Jean was a docent and I must say, she trained me very well about the history of the museum, her beloved Charlie Russell and his art. She was frequently requested to be a docent for tour groups of all ages. It was her passion, enthusiasm and her wealth of knowledge along with her fringed vest that made her tours spectacular. I have fond memories of her desire to learn and to share what she had learned with others. I was often scolded for sending her notes of thanks for all her work. But I just couldn't ever say how much she meant to my success at the museum and to the community. She was an inspiration and a most wonderful person. I could tell other stories but I know she would scold me for doing so and therefore, I will "carry on." Paul Hart and I send our deepest sympathy to Lisa and her family.

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