Dorothy Anderson

Dorothy King Anderson, 77, passed away Sunday, October 10, 2010 at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.
Dorothy's family includes her husband, James Bert Anderson of fifty-nine years, they moved to the beach in 1969, from Conway; two sons, James Bobby Anderson and wife, Ann Sansbury, and their children, Jason Mills Anderson (Leslie) and Michelle Anderson Sturzenbecker (Mark) and their children, Dylan Jollie, Charlotte Ann Anderson, Jay Anderson, Alva Elise Anderson, and James Douglas Anderson; another son, Michael Bert Anderson and wife, Rosalyn Jane, and their children, James Bert Anderson (deceased), Patricia Caroline Anderson, Jade Michael Earl Roy, Rachel Claire Anderson, Elizabeth Grace Anderson and Madelyn Dorothy Jane Anderson.
Dorothy was born July 26, 1933, in Conway, the daughter of Allard Flagg King and Esther Mae Brown. In her combined family she had 13 brothers and sisters. Living siblings include Estelle Lewis, Mazie Brown, Billy Joe King, Mary Frances Tall, John King and Donald King. Her siblings that have passed before her include Sam King, Thurman King, Allard King Jr., Howard King, Mildred Hardwick and Jack King. Many thanks to her sister, Mary Frances Tall, who was her companion and co-caregiver.
She graduated from Conway High School and also attended Coast Carolina College. In December 2008, the trustees of Coastal Carolina University honored her with a Doctorate of Public Service. She was very proud to give a commencement speech that day and spoke about working. She said, "do not hang your degree on the wall and expect things to happen. It would take hard work and being tough, but that day they had the best tools…and education."
She was more honest, true and given than she was tough. She loved to work and leave a mark behind that was noticeable and significant, whether it was planting flowers or painting a hotel room. More often it was something far more than the signs of daily work - it was a big project. She was proud to have served on the early committees that helped establish the hospital and the university. She was an early founding member of the United Way of Horry County. She was proud of her Myrtle Beach, and served on every civic board from the Chamber of Commerce, Hospitality Association and COMBO to Bank Advisory Boards. The chamber honored her as the Citizen of the Year in the passed few years. Her best times were spent working with groups that wanted to improve our city.
Individually, she was a builder and an operator of businesses. She was proud to be involved and to manage her motels, hotels and resorts. Her employees and peers showed her love and respect. Her friends and community called on her efforts without ever being turned down, because she wanted the best for everyone. She enjoyed the success of others as much as her own success. She could be proud of what she had done without being boastful. She employed thousands of people but always made sure to say that she worked with them. Her attitude was that we all work for ourselves regardless of where the paycheck came from. She would say that you work to pay your bills and to provide for your families, not hers. She was quick to say she worked to provide for her family and she did. Everything this family has we owe to her.
How do we measure that success? Well, she made a lot of money and even won some jackpots. Her success was more from being from a large family than in dollars. The King family, her brothers and sisters, loved each other very much. Her family eat together, traveled together, worked together and lived together as close as possible. They shared with each other what a family is supposed to be like. She was blessed and thankful for her family.
She was rewarded with a lot of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandma Dot was their biggest fan and tried to fill them with the good stuff. Self respect, manners and telling the truth was served up very often; always with love and a compliment about something that was being done right already. She would stop you in your tracks if you said anything about the grandchildren. I pity anyone who would have picked on one of the grandchildren. Some family members disappointed her and they will have to live with that. She could always accept failure but not selfishness or cheating. She would defend you against all odds and walk with you through any troubled times regardless if you had a hand in making your situation. That was her brand of a mother's love.
She was rewarded by her efforts with a perfect reputation. Friends called her a mentor or role model more than any other name. From her investment club to her social friends, she was rewarded with dedicated, special friends. She was constantly being thanked for showing the way or helping get this or that started. Her close friends knew her wonderful sense of humor and never had to ask what she really meant in one of her comments. Her harshest words were for people who criticized a job being done rather than joining in and help.
Her politics were simple. She said you have to work with the incumbent regardless of party. She attended several Presidential Inaugurations starting with Jimmy Carter through to George W. Bush. She knew our Governors by first name and helped our local candidates as much as she could. The Christmas lights and summer fireworks were projects she fought for and donated to endlessly. She worked for and funded buried utilities on Ocean Blvd so that it would look better. She welcomed every kind of guest, but especially families with children. She talked about the boardwalk but didn't get to enjoy it. She did enjoy the ocean front park beside Camelot that was named Anderson Family Park, for families to enjoy. Every Easter, she wanted eggs hidden there for visiting families to have an Easter Egg Party.
She was diagnosed with stomach cancer in May 2009, and began a very courageous fight. She went to MD Anderson in Houston, Texas, and received treatment a Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston. She impressed her doctors and nurses with her sweet spirit and fighting will. She loved Dr. Melanie Thomas for her hugs and medical attention. She was comforted by the support of her special Amedisys Nurses. She would always leave you with a wink and smile, despite how bad she felt. She found peace in the visits and prayer support that surrounded her.
Funeral services will be held 3 p.m. Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at the First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Ken Timmerman officiating. Entombment will follow in the Mausoleum at Hillcrest Cemetery in Conway. Visitation was held Monday, October 11, 2010, from 6 to 8 p.m., at McMillan-Small Funeral Home.
Memorials in Dorothy's honor can be made to the Dorothy K. Anderson Scholarship Fund, c/o Coastal Carolina University, P.O. Box 261954, Conway, SC 29526. An online guest register is available at www.msfh.net.
McMillan-Small Funeral Home is serving the family.