Dorothy A Anderson

now free from all the physical breakdowns that were plaguing her for the past few years that

crimped her style and made her dependent on others on a daily basis. But she is still Mama

Dot, Nana, Bill Baby’s girl.

Dot spent her childhood years with her big family in Warrior, the second youngest child. Her

oldest brother, Hoyt, died at age 4 before Dot was born. Big brother Bobby, and sisters Ethel,

Martha, and Betty teased her and helped her grow up. They were all married and on their own

when Mama Tressie moved Reba, Dot, and Roland to town (North Birmingham), when

Granddaddy Ranzy became ill. All of the sisters were bossy and Dot and Roland didn’t stand a

chance. The girls were a force to be reckoned with, and all lived within a few miles and had

lots of good times and happy meals together all of our lives.

Bill married Dot August 25, 1951. They celebrated 65 years together with his friends in the

nursing home shortly before he died in December 2016. Pam was born after a few years, then

Renea came along almost 5 years later. Dot was a faithful member of Tenth Avenue Baptist

Church and made sure her daughters attended everything the church did. Bill made a

commitment to Christ in the early 70s and family and Jesus were everything to them. They had

so much fun chaperoning all of the youth events: choir tours and TAB Camp.

Most of her life, what she enjoyed most was giving people gifts. She spoiled her three

grandchildren: Brandon, Bethany, and Cody, with a library of golden books, all the Beanie

Babies, and cute clothes. Brandon lived hours away from her until he was 5, and she missed

him so much, she went to work in a daycare. Cody always lived nearest and she enjoyed

watching him do everything. And of course, being the girl, Bethany got away with murder and

never had to lift a finger. Ethel died young, but Dot travelled with Betty and Reba and Martha

from one end of Jefferson County to the other, looking for bargains and good food and

mischief. When Brooke and Matt came into the family, they got their share of little surprises

from the craft fairs and all the Hallmark cards (even though she never found one for

Granddaughter or Grandson In Law). Sorry for the rest of you grandkids, but Lily was the

reigning Queen for almost four years and Nana even bumped Bethany down a rung. Lily and

Sophie got the last of the best of playing with Nana and going on adventures with her, before

age and lessening mobility kept her in one place most of the time. The birth of each of the

Blair girls, Annabel, Evie, Lucy, and Joanna was a joy and excitement that helped keep her

engaged in life. Up until the time of COVID, in the nursing home, she would still say she could

watch the girls if we needed a babysitter. And she was fascinated and eager to get to know

them, when we adopted Zoie and Cameron. Having a little boy again reminded her of little

Brandon, and it tickled her that Zoie was almost the same age as Sophie.

So in the last 3 years, Nana cut me a lot of slack because I have eight grandkids, and it

seemed to her I was raising them all. The last time we talked, she asked if they were at school

that day and if Lily was still doing well in the band. Roland and Reba, her only surviving

siblings, kept tabs on her in the nursing home these last few years and helped keep her from

lonliness. Oh, and she was never a dog person, but she loved Atticus because I did .

From the time of Dad’s death, Mom slipped into most conversations that she was okay and

she would make the best of whatever came, but she was ready to go home any time. She

missed all the loved ones who had preceded her and she knew this is not our home, We grieve

for missing her now, but she is free and full of joy.