It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our mother, friend and confidante, Dorothy "Dot", "Gummy" Dreaper, three weeks short of her 97th birthday.
Dorothy was born on February 3, 1922 (on the farm) in Morse Saskatchewan to British Londoners, George and Martha Peacock (nee Newman) who later moved to Victoria, B.C., where they started two grocery stores. Dorothy spent many hours working and learning the family business in her youth and teen years.
At the age of 13, Dorothy met a young man named Don Dreaper ( three years her senior) while attending swimming lessons. The two became inseparable and would later attend romantic dances at the Crystal Ballroom at the Empress Hotel.
At 18 years of age, she would marry, and shortly after would say goodbye to Don while he enlisted in the Navy during WWII. While Don was away she would give birth to their first child.
Upon returning from WWII, Don pursued a career in the RCMP, which would ultimately take Dorothy on some wild and rugged adventures particularly the move to the Tofino/Euclulet area, whereby the only way in or out was by boat. She would become Don's sidekick at the one main detachment and took pride in making meals and overlooking the safety of the jail patrons and would operate the communications centre in the Tofino airport. Shortly after posting, they were transferred to Port Alberni and would have two more children.
Eventually, their journey of life would return them closer to their home town of Victoria B.C., where two more children were born. There would be 20 years difference between the first child and the last born child.
Don transferred to Nelson B.C. where Dorothy would soon become passionate about pottery. She would spend hours creating and firing clay pieces that would take her into the late hours of the night. This was also a time where she would master the game of bridge, find cross country skiing and hiking.
No matter where life took Dorothy, she would accumulate "people" and form social groups. It was also not unusual to find her working on some form of creative endeavor in various forms of medium including poetry. Dorothy always found a way to make the best use of her time in between family and friends.
A final move was made to Vernon B.C., in 1967, where they both felt that they had met with paradise. They took advantage of their new found home and its surroundings; square dancing , cross country skiing, boating, hiking and entertaining family and friend s during the Hot Okanagan summers.
Don retired at 57 and the two became world travelers; from Turkish mud baths, to treks on camels across Tunisia, to hiking on glaciers, to wading out flash floods in Australia ( once in a two man pup tent), to escaping tornadoes in Edmonton and earthquakes in Guatemala. Dorothy would later be known to her many friends as " The World Traveler", for as soon as her plane touched down on home turf; she would be planning the next holiday.
Although later in age Dorothy had limited vision and arthritic ridden hands, she found solace in making beautiful hand stitched quilts of her own designs, and in return; she created many quilts for her family members. She logged in the creation of one particular quilt, which totaled 1,150 hours.
Dorothy is predeceased by her husband Donald "Don" William Dreaper 1919-2015 and her beloved son Donald "Rick" Dreaper 1958-1983, for whom she called her "peacemaker."
She leaves behind her children: Donelle "Sharon" Dreaper, Bonnie Frankson, Bill Dreaper (Sandy), Lorna "Lorena" Wood (Keith) and her grandchildren: Dorothy, Christine, Andrew, Amber, Amanda, Joshua, Tina, Lynda, Victoria, Richard and a multitude of great, and great-great grandchildren.
A tea service will be held in Dorothy's honour at Canterbury Court, followed by a private family gravesite ceremony at a later date.
We would like to thank Delene and her group at Canterbury Court for providing such a wonderful experience for mom and all the great staff at Creekside Landing.
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