Dorothy Gene West

12/01/1920 to 9/06/2015

Dorothy G. (Dot) West, 94, of Encinitas & San Marcos, peacefully passed

away in her sleep on Sunday, September 6, 2015, at her residence in

Brookdale Place, San Marcos, CA. Dot was predeceased by her

husband of 69+ years, Marvin L. (Joe) West on September 30, 2009.

Dot was born the eldest of two daughters to Ben R. & Malinda (Young)

Morse on December 1, 1920 in Marshalltown, IA. Her father moved the

whole family to the Riverside, CA. in a home-made tent trailer in 1925,

& then to Encinitas in 1937 where Dot attended Oceanside Jr. College.

During her career, Dot held various secretarial positions with the San

Dieguito Irrigation District and the Coast Dispatch. In 1967 she accepted

a position with R E Badger in Rancho Santa Fe as his Executive

Administrator, where she spent 17 years as Ray's "right hand" until her

retirement in 1984.

Dot & Joe were married on June 12, 1941. They worked & raised their

family in Encinitas and moved to San Marcos, CA. (Meadlowlark area) in

1973. Weekends and holidays were spent in whatever RV they had at the

time, exploring nature and the outdoors from coast to coast; and from

Baja, CA. to Alaska. Dot loved collecting Indian artifacts, jeep trips to see

the wild flowers, weekends in Ranchita at Rancho de Oeste and anything

others might miss if not looking closely as they rode around the country.

When not traveling, she was always ready for a card game and hosted

the annual New Years "Bunko" party even though she had to re-explain

the game every year.

After Joe's death in 2009, she moved to Brookdale Place in San Marcos,

CA. where she enjoyed the many activities so much so she became the

resident activity director and continued to play bingo, bunko & poker with

the boys. She very seldom missed the monthly trip to a local casino and

rarely came home with less than she left with. She has been described

by her friends as a real "firecracker".

Dot is survived by her daughters: Judy (Burke) Fuller of Encinitas and

Marilyn (Lonny) Fowler of San Marcos; grandchildren: Sheldon & Bret

Fowler of Vista & Stroudsburg, PA.; and Shannon & Rick Fuller of

Encinitas; great-grandchildren: Dustin Fuller of Temecula and Robert

Rowe III of Encinitas.

Informal services were held on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at Eternal

Hills Memorial Park, 1999 El Camino Real, Oceanside, CA. followed by a

gathering of those in attendance for an informal meal & toast to a woman

who lived life to the fullest. Donations may be made in Dorothy's name to

Hospice of the North Coast, 2525 Pio Pico Dr. #301, Carlsbad, CA 92008.