Dorothy Kate Alston

Dottie and Ed raised five children together and were married for 63 years before he passed in 2014. In addition to caring for their children, Dottie worked as a florist for Tucker House at Quail Corners. She had an eye for beauty and passed along that heritage to her grandchildren and children. So often now we find ourselves “doing it like Grandma would do it” as we put the finishing touches on something. Her dinner table was spread with matching dinnerware and a brightly colored tablecloth. Never would she have entertained the idea of putting a pot or pan on the table and serving from it. From the time we were children, we can remember getting out the boxes of labeled decorations that would transform our home to the appropriate season. She even decorated the Governor’s Mansion several times.

Dottie volunteered her time with garden clubs and became a Master Gardener along with her husband. She and Ed served side by side assisting Garden Show visitors at the NC State Fair. They also worked together presenting a skit about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly to school groups. Dottie’s preferred place was to always be next to Ed. She began her mornings by coming up behind him while he ate breakfast, squeezing him tightly and kissing him joyfully. When he passed, she looked to her children to fill that void. We spent many hours sitting on the couch holding her hand.

Dottie was born in Wilson, North Carolina and met Ed at Atlantic Christian College. Ed was playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliette, and the story is told that she was determined to make him her own. She might have been surprised when she discovered that his romantic persona was reserved for the stage, but it did not stop her from loving her quiet, even-tempered honey with all of her heart and soul. Dottie would often look at Dad and look at her family and proclaim, “My cup runneth over.”

Dottie and Ed moved a number of times, leaving North Carolina and going north for Ed’s job with IBM, but eventually they made their way back to North Carolina when they moved to Charlotte in 1964. In 1970 they moved one last time and settled in Raleigh, North Carolina. Here they became devoted members of Hillyer Memorial Christian Church and joined the choir, taught Sunday school, and mentored younger couples.

Dottie is survived by her children, Edwin Joseph Alston, III (Shelly), Dianne Ferguson (Brad), Christine Woodcock, David Alston (April), and Amy Mather (Jason); grandchildren, E.J. Alston (Laura), Nathan Ferguson (Ashley), Aaron Ferguson, Jacob Ferguson, Rachel Woodcock, Hannah Woodcock, Walker Alston, Tana Grace Alston, Michael Mather, and Olivia Mather; and great grandchildren, Lana and Jack Alston.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 24 at 11:00 a.m. at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church, 718 Hillsborough Street,

Raleigh, NC. Condolences may be made online at www.MitchellatRMP.com. Memorial gifts may be made in Dottie’s name to Hillyer Memorial.