Dorothy Anderson Bowman Rollins

1941 - 2017

DOROTHY ANDERSON BOWMAN ROLLINS 1941 - 2017
HELENA, MT - Dorothy (Dottie) Rollins died Friday, July 7, 2017 at her home. Dottie was born July 24, 1941 to Betty and Leonard Anderson. She grew up in Woodstock, Connecticut and graduated from Woodstock Academy in 1959 and from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1963.
Dottie had many interests and pursued them wherever they led, making friends and picking up stories along the way. She researched education in Ypsilanti, Michigan; milked cows in Butte, Montana; and attended a horse shoeing school in Bozeman, Montana, where she later worked as an artist and blacksmith. She loved the Big Sky Country and lived in Helena for many years, doing photography and a weekly gardening column for the Queen City News.
Her quirky sense of humor and adventurous, enthusiastic and fun-loving nature helped her connect with people wherever she went. In recent years, she loved spending time with children as a volunteer with the Helena Public Schools, first as a greeter of Junior High students, then working with Kindergarteners through Second Graders at the Smith School.
Dottie enjoyed the outdoors and hiking with her dogs: first Thumbelina, later Sasha, and most recently Bennie. She loved music and rarely missed a performance of the Metropolitan Opera shown live at a movie theater in Helena; she also attended performances of the Helena Symphony.
In 1982 she participated in the Run for Peace which crossed the country to raise money for a farming exchange between the U.S and Russia. Later she was active gathering signatures for Peace and Justice initiatives.
Dottie leaves a sister, Margaret Anderson of Woodstock, CT; a niece, Tiffany Reevior and her husband Jim and son Daniel of Medford, MA; a nephew, John Refior, of Waltham, MA and cousins in the East and the West. She also leaves a wide circle of friends in Helena and other parts of the country. She leaves her dog, Bennie and cat, Mellie.
There will be a gathering to celebrate Dottie's life at the Woodstock Hill Cemetery, 543 Route 169, on Saturday, July 29 at 11 a.m. Family and friends are invited.