Dorothy F. Miles

Dorothy was born February 27, 1916 in Marblehead, MA and died on March 7, 2010 in Bedford, TX. Her parents were the late Hansie Hooper and Edwin Fogg. Her husband was the late Vincent L. Miles.

Dorothy graduated from Marblehead schools, received a Bachelor’s degree cum laude from Boston University and a fellowship for one-year of advanced study at the Universities of Marburg and Heidelberg in Germany.

She taught English at Duxbury High School and Sandwich High School before being appointed to the English Department of Marblehead High School in 1949. Taking Sabbatical leave in 1967, Dorothy made a study of emerging non-traditional methods of teaching high school English and returned with an innovative approach called the Deck Plan. Instead of the traditional English program, the Deck Plan gave Marblehead students the choice of 42 English courses and was credited with helping students remain in school during the high drop-out period of the Sixties. Variations of the Deck Plan were successfully implemented in many other school systems.

After retiring in 1975, as a lover of American history and local history in particular, she authored five books: Church of Our Fathers, The Revival of a Marblehead Mansion, The Wizard of Orne Hill, The Marblehead Hoopers, and Dreams of Glory.

Dorothy was a life member of Marblehead Historical Society, the Marblehead Arts Assn., Friends of Abbot Library, OMIA, Cape Cod Museum of Fine Art, St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Cape Cod Writers Assn., North Shore Organ Society, the Ralph Lowell Society Peabody Essex Institute, English First, Retired Mass. Teacher’s Assoc., and the National Council Teachers of English. She served as Sr. Warden and historian of St. Michael’s Church and for many years served on the Board of Directors of the Lyric Stage in Boston.

She leaves two sons, Peter Hooper Miles and wife Barbara of Dallas, Texas and Michael Vincent Miles of Marblehead; three grandchildren, Noel Marie Miles of Denver, CO, Peter Hooper Miles, Jr. and wife Linda of Roseville, CA, and Elizabeth Miles Roussos and husband Jason of Austin, TX; and two great grandchildren Keira Miles and Ian Roussos.

Visitation and prayers were held at Shannon Rose Hill Funeral Home in Fort Worth, TX for family and friends on March 20, 2010.

A Funeral Service is to be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 26 Pleasant Street, Marblehead on April 5, 2010 at 11:00A.M. Burial to follow in Waterside Cemetery, Marblehead. Relatives and friends respectfully invited. In lieu of flowers contributions may be sent to St. Michael’s Church, the Marblehead Historical Society or the Alzheimer’s Foundation.