Dorothy Werst

Dorothy (Dot) Werst passed away July 26 in her apartment in Acton, MA surrounded by her loving family. She was 99 years old.

She was born and raised in Enhaut, PA. The family owned an old piano, and when Dot showed an interest in playing, her mother, Isabel, showed her where the notes were on the keyboard. Dot would spend hours picking out the notes of hymns, so when she was a Freshman in High School, she received piano lessons as a Christmas present and started her first formal music training.

Dot worked her way through school, waiting tables and teaching piano lessons, at Lebanon Valley College where she studied music. She graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music, and was elected to "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities".

The summer after graduating college, Dot moved to Perkasie where she taught music in the Perkasie Schools and directed choirs in a few different churches. That fall she was introduced to Len Werst. They dated, fell in love, and were married on August 19, 1950. Dot worked for the school system 3 more years, then resigned to start a family.

In 1962 the family moved to Acton, Massachusetts to be near Len's work. Soon afterwards she started teaching piano lessons again out of the home. The family became Charter Members of St. Matthew's United Methodist Church that was just being formed. Dot soon became choir director, a position which she held for 25 years.

In 1969, Dot was approached by the Acton Boxborough School District about substitute teaching in the Junior High. She accepted and also signed up to substitute in the Elementary schools. Later that year she accepted a full time position teaching Music in the Junior High, where she also directed a number of musicals. She continued in that position until she retired.

Dot and Len co-founded Boston Share Network (BSN) in 2004, when Dot was 77. BSN is a non-profit organization that works with volunteers, shelters and agencies to assess the needs of the homeless and poor, responds to those needs and bridges the gap between homelessness and a life of hope. Dot served as President of BSN for 20 years, and under her leadership thousands of homeless were provided IDs, transportation and moving assistance.

In 2023, after reading Dot's first book, Dot's Great Niece, Sara Echsner, decided to make a documentary about Dot, which had it's world premier on the 20th Anniversary of BSN in 2024, and is available for viewing on www.BostonShareNetwork.com

Dot and Len have three sons; Tom and his wife, Sue, live in Merrimack, NH, Steve and his wife, Kathy, live in Eastham and Kent and his wife, Jane live in Arlington. They also have 5 wonderful grandchildren; Sallie, Ben, Jordan, Nate and Steven (Jack). Dot is also survived by one brother and by many nieces, nephews, and great nieces, and nephews.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, October 11th starting at 2:00PM. Service will be live streamed and recorded on the St Matthews YouTube Channel. Reception to be held afterwards.

St Matthews UMC

435 Central St

Acton, MA 01720

We also are collecting stories about Dot - If you have a special memory about her, please share it by emailing it to Celebrate.Dots.Life@gmail.com with Story in the Subject line. We will print them and have them on display at St Matthews. Also, please indicate if you are willing to have your story published. We were working on a 3rd book with Dot and, if we decide to complete it, may include some of your stories.

If you don't do email, you can also call 978-263-7820 and leave a message with your story, or mail it to Boston Share Network at the address below Attn: Dot Story

The family requests that instead of flowers, donations be made to the following charity:

Boston Share Network, PO Box 534, West Acton, MA 01720

www.BostonShareNetwork.com