Dorothy E. Gullixson

1925 - 2021

Dorothy E. Gullixson
December 25, 1925 - April 22, 2021
Dorothy Erickson Gullixson was a remarkable woman, deeply committed to and loved by her family, who overcame many challenges in life, becoming a respected investor, antique dealer, traveler and friend to many in Santa Rosa and the South Bay. A 21-year resident of Santa Rosa, Dorothy had a keen eye for the gems that lay hidden inside garages and attics and inside the hearts of people. She had a way of pulling out the best in all of us – and seeing value where others couldn't.
Born in Palo Alto on Christmas Day in 1925, Dorothy was raised by her Swedish immigrant parents, Hugo and Victoria Erickson, along with her older brothers Victor and Adolph Erickson and her older sister Vivian Erickson Harlan. Her father supported the family as a driver of a bus. Before that, he was engineer of the Toonerville Trolley that once traveled through downtown Palo Alto. After the war, she married Preben Bonde, an Army Air Corps pilot who, soon after the birth of their first son, Erik Kenneth, was recalled to fly the Berlin Airlift out of war-ravaged Wiesbaden, Germany. Dorothy joined him there and, when Preben was later assigned to be chief pilot for the ambassador to Denmark, they moved to Copenhagen, where their second son, David, was born.
Years later, after the couple divorced, Dorothy returned to Palo Alto and worked at Crocker Bank and later as a secretary for the City of Palo Alto, purchasing a home for herself and her children. Dorothy was introduced to Conrad F. Gullixson, a respected attorney and future City Council member in Palo Alto. The two were married and had two children, Kathy and Paul. In 1970, the family was devastated by the sudden death of Dorothy's son, Ken (Erik) Bonde, of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 22.
In 1970, Dorothy and Conrad divorced. She then began her career as an independent businesswoman and investor, which she started by opening an antique dealership in downtown Palo Alto known as Dovetail Antiques. She later earned her real estate license and began working for Cornish & Carey, an independent brokerage firm founded in Palo Alto in 1935. She used her commissions to invest wisely in rental properties and stocks, including such burgeoning Silicon Valley titans as Cisco, Intel and Hewlett-Packard.
Dorothy's investments allowed her to retire and move to Sonoma in 1990. A little over 10 years later, she moved to Santa Rosa and bought a house down the block from her son, Paul, and his growing family. She also spent a year providing child care for her daughter's infant twin girls.
Dorothy loved to travel, frequently taking tours to China, Scandinavia and Russia and cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, the Canary Islands and the Baltic Sea. She would later move to Spring Lake Village retirement complex.
Aside from traveling, Dorothy loved playing bridge, gardening, and attending concerts and lectures. She was always reading newspapers and magazines. She also had an abiding faith, having been baptized at First Lutheran Church in downtown Palo Alto and served as a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Palo Alto and, more recently, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Rincon Valley.
But nothing meant more to her than family. In her final days, following her recovery from a fall during the COVID shutdown, she would often take family pictures off her wall, load up her walker, and announce that she was "going home."
Dorothy is home now. She went to be with the Lord on April 22. She was 95. She is deeply loved and is dearly missed by her family and friends.
Dorothy is survived by her son David Bonde (Lucy) and his daughter Megan (Matt) La Cava; stepdaughter Anne Panowicz (Russell) and her daughters Emily and Christina; daughter Kathy Staley and her children Andrew, Amanda and Melissa; and son Paul Gullixson (Tamara) and children Christopher and Clara. She also leaves behind a great-grandson, Finn LaCava.
A private grave site service was held in Palo Alto. Members of her family also gathered in person on the island of Kauai - and on Zoom - to pay tribute to her on Christmas Day, which would have marked her 96th birthday. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Dorothy's memory can be made to the Bonde Memorial Scholarships created in memory of her son Ken as well as her eldest granddaughter, Anna Bonde, who was killed in 2001 at the age of 19 by an intoxicated driver. Donations to the scholarships can be made to St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057. Go online to www.stolaf.edu/giving or call 800-733-6523.