Dorothy S. "Dottie" Vassar

Dorothy S. "Dottie"Vassar, age 91, of Erie, died Sunday, October 31, 2010 at Hamot Medical Center. She was born on August 25, 1919 in Springfield, Mass.; a daughter of the late Herbert and Mariam Phelps Stiles. She was a graduate of Suffield Academy in 1936, and married her husband Reginald in 1946. She worked for Hartford Screw Machine in Conn., and Peoples Life Insurance Co. in Washington D.C. She played softball for G. Fox Company in Hartford, Conn., winning the State Championship and the right to play at Madison Square Garden. Dottie started skating in 1917. Later she skated at Lake Placid, N.Y. In 1958 Dottie founded the Westminster Figure Skating Club, on a pond behind her home. She taught skating, was a Board Officer, and was active in club functions for over 52 years. She was on the Board of the Erie Infants and Youth Home for nearly 20 years, serving as Treasurer from 1972 -1989. She was a member of Lawrence Park Golf Club for over 20 years, Daughters of the Nile for over 30 years, and was a member of Grace Baptist Church for over 55 years, serving many years as a Deaconess. In 1990 Dottie was given The Declaration of Achievement Award by the Commonwealth of PA for her many volunteer activities in the community. In 1993 she was made a Life Member of Westminster Figure Skating Club, she received the Founders Award from the Erie Home for Children and Adults in 1996, and in 2001 was inducted into the Erie District Women's Golf Association Hall of Fame. Dottie was preceded in death by a daughter, Joan Atkinson Vassar, her twin brother, Donald Stiles, a brother, Lester Stiles, and a sister, Bernice Prior. Dorothy is survived by her husband of over 64 years, Reginald Vassar, her daughter, Barbara Butler (James) of Waynesburg, Pa., five grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren. Friends may call at Burton Westlake Funeral Home, 3801 West 26th Street, (at Powell Ave.) Erie, Pa., 16506, on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and are invited to a funeral service there on Thursday at 10 a.m. with Rev Al Detter officiating. Burial will follow in Laurel Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to: Westminster Figure Skating Club, PO BOX 3187 Erie, PA 16508 or the Shriners Hospitals For Children 1645 West 8th Street Erie, PA 16505 . Send condolences at www.Burtonfuneralhome.com.