Dorothy Frank

Dorothy passed into the next world surrounded by her husband, Richard, and her family on the 18th of March, 2017, at the home of her daughter where she was receiving care following surgery.

Dorothy and Richard are long time residents of the Guelph area. She was loved and admired for her outgoing and sparkling personality. She was a friend to all, opening her home and her heart without reservation.

Dorothy was born in Cambridge, England. She often reminisced of working with horses and ballet dancing as a young woman. She met Richard at the University of Cambridge while working as a lab assistant.

Richard and Dorothy married in 1951 and promptly moved to Iringa in Tanganyika, now Tanzania where Richard worked for the Colonial Office teaching tropical agriculture techniques for famine relief to the local population. Their first child, Nigel was born in February 1953 in Iringa. Eventually they left East Africa and ended up at pier 21 in Halifax Harbour in 1955. Subsequently they moved to Southern Ontario where Robert was born in November. Dorothy and Richard struggled for the next couple of years until Richard obtained a teaching position at Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology. A daughter, Elizabeth, was born in May 1957 followed three years later in June 1960 by Gregory. They moved to Guelph in 1965.

Dorothy and Richard were rarely apart and together they gave their children a rich experience in the natural world spending summer holidays camping somewhere in one of Ontario's provincial parks. Dorothy and Richard were also very active practitioners of Judo in where they both obtained black belts. Dorothy served a term as the first president of Women's Judo for Ontario.

In 1981 Dorothy returned to school as a mature student in the Fine Arts Programme at the University of Guelph. She graduated with an Honours B.A. in October of 1985.

Since 1985 she has been involved with Tai Chi, gardening, Creative Memories, Guelph Naturalists, more hiking, vacationing in Costa Rica and enjoying the company of her family and extended family of friends.

Dorothy’s greatest wish was that her family, now grown to 33 would grow, thrive and continue to love and cherish each other. To Dorothy, her family was has her greatest source of joy and comfort. She reveled in all of their joys, grieved in all of their woes and celebrated in all of their victories. She will be sadly missed by all of her family and her extended family of friends whom she loved and cherished.

Dorothy is survived by her husband Richard, her children Nigel (Susan), Robert (Sandi), Elizabeth (Bill), Gregory (Carmel), grandchildren Laela (Matt), Alana (Paul) , Jacquelyn (Eliot), Victoria (Heidi), Andrew, Jeffrey (Tara), Alexander (Deidre), Ciaran, Aidan and great grandchildren Jacob, Amelia, Julia, Logan, Sylus, Aaleah, Juliette, Evangeline and Ivy.

Family and friends will be received at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home, Hart Chapel, 1099 Gordon Street, Guelph, Ontario on Monday March 20, 2017 from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. A celebration of Dorothy's life will be held in the chapel on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. with visitation 1 hour prior to service time. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery to follow.

As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Christian Blind Mission Int'l or Covenant House would be appreciated by the family as these were her favourite charities. Donation cards are available at the funeral home (519-822-4731) and condolences may be placed on the funeral home website at www.gilbertmacintyreandson.com

Visitation is Monday, March 20, 2017 from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. A Celebration of Dorothy's Life will be held in the chapel on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.