Dorothy Alden

1931 - 2021

Dorothy Alden
April 25, 1931 - May 22, 2021
Chico, California - Long-time Carmichael resident Dorothy Anne (Deane) Alden passed away in Chico on May 22, less than a month after her 90th birthday celebration.
Dorothy Deane was born in Los Angeles on April 25, 1931 to Ralph and Hortense (Cota) Deane. Ralph soon disappeared from her life, but Hortense was a constant supportive presence as Dorothy was raised on a walnut ranch near the east Los Angeles community of Puente, now La Puente. On the ranch, she was surrounded by members of the Cota family as she learned cooking from her grandmother Mercedes (Higuera) Cota.
On April 14, 1951, after gaining a degree from Mount San Antonio College, she married another product of Puente, Donald Alden. Together, they began nearly sixty years of marriage.
In their early years together, Don and Dorothy moved regularly as Don pursued his engineering career with Caltrans. They were joined by son Dave in 1953 and daughter Nancy in 1955. After stops in Orange, Carlsbad, Ojai, Colton, San Bernardino, Sacramento, and Walnut Creek, Don and Dorothy settled into their long-time Carmichael home near the American River in 1967.
Dorothy enjoyed her years in Carmichael, entertaining regularly, especially at Christmastime, and becoming involved in community affairs. She treasured her decade as the executive director of Sacramento Community Concerts, overseeing an annual schedule of concerts at the Sacramento Performing Arts Center.
Don and Dorothy traveled regularly, often using Don's senior rowing competitions as a jumping off point. Over their years of travel, they visited Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland, Spain, Germany, and more, often making new friends.
In her later years, she became a fixture at River Cat games, gathering a new group of friends near her season-ticket seats along the third base concourse. She also traveled occasionally to watch the team on the road, escorted by son Dave and frequently joined over baseball breakfasts by announcer Johnny Doskow and other members of the River Cats staff and team.
Widowed in 2010, Dorothy moved to Chico in 2015 where she was attended in her final years by daughter Nancy.
She is survived by her two children, daughter-in-law Kathleen, son-in-law Everette, and many nieces and nephews.
Services will be private and family-only, scheduled when community health rules permit. Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army or the University of California Berkeley Rowing program.