Dorthy Jean Kolter

Dorthy Jean Saylor Kolter, 99, Johnson City, died Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at The Waters of Johnson City, following a brief illness.

Dorthy was a native of Maryville, and has been a resident of the Johnson City area for the past fifty years.

She was a daughter of the late Benjamin and Vera Elizabeth Belle Young Carpenter.

Dorthy was a 1944 graduate of Oak Ridge High School. She then attended Hiwassee Junior College and St. Mary's Hospital School of Nursing, Knoxville, where she received her Certificate of Nursing, becoming a Registered Nurse.

Dorthy was a Methodist. She enjoyed gardening, knitting and making bread, which she proudly shared with her family and friends.

In addition to her parents, Dorthy was preceded in death by her first husband, H.W. "Bud" Saylor, in 1989, her second husband, Richard "Dick" Kolter, in 2010, and her son, Howard Todd Saylor, in 2024.

She is survived by her daughter, Val Jean Saylor Archer and husband William, Johnson City; two granddaughters, Whitney Archer Johnson and husband Jeremy, Johnson City, Meredith Archer Risner and husband Brandon, Hendersonville, TN; her sister, Carol Caldwell, Marietta, GA; three great-grandchildren, Blake Elizabeth Johnson, Johnson City, Reagan Archer Risner and Samuel Anderson Risner, both of Hendersonville, TN; niece, Kim Caldwell Baker, Marietta, GA; nephew, Bennie Saylor, Telford; four cousins, Linda Dalton, Ruthie Barton, Joe Young and Gary Leatherwood, all of Maryville.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, November 1, 2025, from 12:00 – 2:00 P.M., in the East Parlor of Appalachian Funeral Home. A private graveside service and inurnment for the family will follow in Washington County Memory Gardens.

In-lieu-of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Dorthy's honor to the American Cancer Society at donate.cancer.org.