Dorothy Jean LACKEY

LACKEY, Dorothy Jean (Walker) Dorothy Jean (Walker) Lackey was always known as Jean. The seventh of nine children, she was born in Greeley, Colorado and grew up on the family farm of her parents John and Laura (Fletcher) Walker in Gill. Jean graduated from Gill High School in 1941 in a class of seventeen. She received a wartime provisional certificate to teach from the Colorado State College of Education in 1943 and began teaching in Ault, Colorado. After the war, she returned to college where she met Earl Lackey, a Navy veteran, at a sock hop social. Following a whirlwind romance, they were married on September 20, 1946. The family moved to Sonoma County in 1962 and settled in Forestville. After securing her youngest child in first grade, Jean returned to college at Sonoma State in 1964 to get her B.A. and California teaching certificate. She taught at Forestville Elementary from 1966 until her retirement in 1986. Earl and Jean then moved to Calaveras County and spent the next decade happily traveling the country in their fifth-wheel trailer. Earl's failing health forced a return to Sonoma County in 2001. Jean was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986 and survived three reoccurrences, a testament to good health care and God's blessings. The final years of Jean's life presented challenges. She was legally blind as a result of macular degeneration, but maintained her independence, giving thanks for each day. She passed peacefully in her sleep at the age of 93 on October 16, 2017 and went home to be with her Lord and Savior. Her humor, good counsel, and generosity will be greatly missed. She is preceded in death by her parents and by her husband Earl. She is survived by her sister, Thelma Hager, sons Bradley and Daniel and her daughter Laura Thorson, along with their families. The family would like to thank her team of doctors and the staff of Earle Baum Center of the Blind for their help and compassion. Services will be Saturday, November 4, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Brookdale Paulin Creek, 2375 Range Ave., Santa Rosa. Inurnment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to Earle Baum Center of the Blind, 4539 Occidental Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95401.