Dorothy Frontiero

October 16, 1932 - November 16, 2024

Gloucester, Massachusetts - Dottie Frontiero, iconoclast, expert knitter, gourmet chef, and recognized gardener, who set aside a career in fashion design to raise four terrific children, died peacefully in Gloucester in the presence of her loving family. She was the daughter of Rae and Al Zeiger, two artistically gifted New Yorkers.

She attended Walton High School in the Bronx, NY and took a semester at Harvard before matriculating at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, majoring in fashion design.

Dottie had extraordinary talents in fashion, style, and the arts. By all who knew her, she was sought after for her ability to identify the best in those fields. She was a consummate knitter and did amazing work with creating sweaters, blankets, and specialty items, of which none were too complex for her needles. She passed on those skills to her daughters and granddaughters.

Her artistic skills were also evident in the landscaping of her homes, where in 2016 she was awarded Best In Triangle for her work at her home in Raleigh, NC.

Dottie also excelled in sports, especially swimming, skiing, jogging, and tennis . Her children also followed her lead by pursuing those sports.

While at RISD, Dottie met and married a Brown University engineering student, Paul A. Frontiero of Gloucester, Massachusetts They initially settled in Poughkeepsie, NY, where Paul worked with IBM. After 11 years, they left for Raleigh, NC, with 3 children and then added a fourth in NC, where Paul completed a 41-year career with IBM.

Deeply committed to friends in Raleigh, Dottie and Paul remained there for an additional 24 years. Dottie had developed a love for cooking and the gourmet skills for doing so. In addition to their husbands, the Raleigh "gourmet gang" was comprised of Glenna Wooten, Jill Goldman, Denise Friedrich, Susanne Hayes, and Dottie, all close friends for years to come. Friends at Cup A Joe were also a hot spot.

Dottie and Paul traveled extensively from coast to coast and to Europe, much of it for IBM. It included extensive assignments to San Francisco and Los Angeles, which Dottie would always identify as her favorite travel experiences.

Dottie and Paul's family are their special love:

Daughter Stephanie with children David (with Lindsay) and Natalie (with Luke), Daughter Wendy (with Richard) and children Zoe and Sam, Daughter Dena (with Carmie), and Son Michael and child Ashley.

David and Lindsay blessed them with great-grandsons Ellis and Henry.

Owing to the bulk of their clan now living in Massachusetts, Dottie and Paul left NC for Paul's hometown of Gloucester, which has been their home now for the past 4 years. They also caught up with Paul's sisters, Virginia McKinnon, Mary Ann Beaton, and Ida Doane, of Gloucester and Essex, respectively.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The News & Observer from Nov. 18 to Nov. 20, 2024.

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Funeral services provided by:

Greely Funeral Home

212 Washington Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

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