She was born Nov. 15, 1927, in Clinton, Iowa, to James Otis Floyd and Etta (Allen) Floyd. She graduated from Clinton High School in 1946 and attended Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she met her future husband, Richard (Dick) Lee Sellon. They were married in January 1948.
As a teenager, Dorothy was a licensed pilot. She learned to fly before she had a driver’s license and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol Cadets during World War II. Dorothy’s interest in art also began at an early age, and she became an accomplished artist in watercolors and pastels. Her talents are on display at the homes of relatives and friends, since she favored them with gifts of her work. She was a member of the Art Guild in Rogers, Arkansas.
Dorothy was a member of the Central United Methodist Church in Rogers where she volunteered in the church library. She also contributed many volunteer hours over the years at Mercy Medical Hospital in Rogers.
When Dorothy and her husband first moved to Rogers in 1985, they operated a U-pick blueberry farm for 10 years. They enjoyed boating on nearby Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas and traveling throughout North America in their camper van.
After her husband, Dick, passed away in 2013, Dorothy moved to Columbia, Missouri, to be near her daughter, Kathie Esbeck. She is survived by her son, Jeffrey Lynn Sellon, and family of Centennial, Colorado; her daughters, Kathie Jeanne Esbeck and family of Columbia, Missouri, and Rebecca Lee Merritt and family of Pearland, Texas; her sisters, Kathryn Slagel of Tucson, Arizona, and Diane Goldtrap of Fort Smith, Arkansas; and a brother, James Floyd of Hope, New Jersey. Dorothy also leaves behind four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, in the chapel of the Memorial Funeral Home. At a later date, Dorothy will be interred alongside her husband at the Allen family plot in Springdale Cemetery, Clinton, Iowa.
The family suggests memorials be submitted for the benefit of Mercy Hospital Northwest in Rogers, Arakansas, c/o Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 W., Columbia, MO 65202.
