Dorothy Whitmore

Longtime Anchorage resident and psychologist Dorothy Gates Whitmore, 89, died of natural causes April 8, 2010, at home.

A celebration of life will be from 1-4 p.m. May 22 at the Hilltop Chalet at Hill Top Ski Area, 7015 Abbott Road. For more information, contact reedwhitmore@gmail.com.

She was born Dorothy Evelyn Gates on July 20, 1920, in Calgary, Alberta, the only child of American parents. Her father, George Ward Gates, was from Middlefield, Ohio, and her mother, Mary Laverne Hough, came from Nebraska. Dorothy was raised in Calgary and Vancouver, British Columbia.

During her high school years, Dorothy moved to Washington state and subsequently earned her bachelor's degree from Western Washington University.

In December 1943, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a WAVE and served as a cipher officer in Bremerton, Wash., from 1943 to 1946, attaining the rank of lieutenant. In 1945, she married fellow naval officer Joseph Bond Whitmore. After leaving the Navy, they moved to Portland, Ore., where Bond worked as a principal and Dorothy raised four children and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon. In 1954, Dorothy and Bond became graduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder and engaged in coursework until 1957. A fifth child was born in Colorado. Dorothy successfully defended her doctorate in 1969. Bond was an avid archer and introduced Dorothy to the sport. In 1955, she was the woman's Pacific Northwest Archery Champion.

In 1957, Dorothy moved to Anchorage with her husband and their five children. A sixth child was born to them in Anchorage. In Alaska she demonstrated her enormous talents and adaptability. Whether cooking a meal for her family over a campfire at Eshamy Bay, organizing the planting of her garden or participating in professional and academic meetings, her success seemed both inevitable and effortless. She seemed as comfortable in both professional and academic settings as she was camping with her family, or taking care of stray cats and wayward kids.

She worked as a counselor at West High from 1957 to 1966 while her husband, a well-known principal in the Anchorage School District, opened and ran Nunaka Valley Elementary School. From 1966 to 1977, Dorothy was Dean of Students and a professor of psychology at Alaska Methodist University, now Alaska Pacific University. She returned to the Anchorage School District in 1979 and worked as a school district psychologist until 1982. After retiring from the Anchorage School District, she started a private practice in Anchorage as a psychologist. She was well-regarded in her profession and served on the Alaska Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners in the 1970s and again from 1993 to 1997.

Dorothy was appreciated by her many students, colleagues, and patients, especially people she helped through critical times in their lives. Her professional and personal connections extended beyond Anchorage throughout Alaska, especially Western Alaska. Their circle of friends included many educators from Anchorage's schools and universities.

Dorothy was a lifetime member of the American Psychological Association and a longtime member of Quota Club International, an international women's service organization

Dorothy enjoyed traveling with her husband and family. She was awarded a year-long Fulbright exchange to New Zealand in 1970-71. After her Fulbright exchange, she was inspired to travel throughout Polynesia. She returned many times to New Zealand, leading student groups from Alaska Methodist University, and traveled often to the Cook Islands, Fiji and Hawaii.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Bond Jr., their son, Joseph Bond III and a granddaughter, Hannah Core.

Dorothy Whitmore is survived by five children and their families, all living in Alaska, Reed and Valerie Whitmore and daughters Hallie and Elly; Katy Whitmore and her son, Jasper Garrod; Craig and Nancy Whitmore and daughters, Corrie and Bristol; Jane Whitmore and sons, Kyle Penney and Ian Whitmore; Mary Core and John Tichotsky and daughters, Mara and Anne; her great-grandchildren, Jada and Landon Whitmore, Madalynn and Abbigail Garrod, and Victoria Crabtree, Alex Murany, and Hannah, Niko and Rayne Penney.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Joseph Bond Whitmore Scholarship Fund at Alaska Pacific University.

Arrangements are with Janssen's Evergreen Memorial Chapel; www.janssenfuneralhomes.com.