Dorothy Merle Christie

Dorothy Merle Christie was born in the district of Aleppo, St. Mary, Jamaica, West Indies on January 22, 1931. She is the daughter of Julie Dill and Charlie Buchanan. She had many siblings, but although most of them did not grow up in the same household, they love each other.

Dorothy attended Eliot School in Aleppo, and she always talked about her love of learning and how she was a smart student. Dorothy married Kenneth Christie at an early age. She gave birth to 8 children – 6 daughters, Millicent, Paulette, Monica, Pauline, Jennifer and Barbara and sons, Ainsley (Barry) and Errol. She was the grandmother and great-great-grandmother to many grandchildren. Dorothy is preceded in death by her husband; daughter, Millicent; and son, Errol.

Dorothy migrated to England for a short while in her younger years and then later to the United States in 1968 and lived in New York where she worked as a Nursing Assistant for many years. She relocated to Florida in the mid-1980s and lived in Miami, Naples, and Lehigh Acres, and moved to Missouri City, TX about 6 months ago to live with one of her daughters.

Dorothy had many things for which she was passionate – education, cooking, travels, her Caribbean heritage, and her faith/spiritual development. She encouraged her children and grandchildren to obtain a good education and to climb until their dreams come through.

Dorothy possessed an innate ability for business and finance, especially real estate investment. She gave tough love, and was the brain behind her children’s many real estate investments. She also had a keen interest in the computer and took training in computer science even after her retirement. Dorothy had a real love of cooking, and friends and family would pay her frequent visits to her home to partake of her delicious Jamaican dishes.

Dorothy traveled frequently during her retirement and especially enjoyed going on cruises with friends and family members to different countries. While in Lehigh Acres for about 18 years, Dorothy was a very active member of the Lehigh Cavalier Domino and Community Club and assisted with holiday preparations and other club events. She truly enjoyed being a member of this club and looked forward to playing bingo and domino every Friday with her friends, including her adopted daughter, Audrey Reid.

Dorothy was a very spiritual person who nourished her faith by immersing herself in the daily word and other Christian literature every day of the week before breakfast. She was an avid churchgoer who had strong views about her faith and resorted to watching the Christian Channel every Sunday during her last few years. Dorothy will be missed dearly. We will cherish her kind and caring ways, and her memories will live in our hearts forever.

A visitation will be held at Hodges Funeral Home at Lee Memorial Park, 12777 State Road 82, Ft Myers, FL 33913 on Sunday, November 3rd at 1030am followed by the service at 1130am and burial at 1230pm. For information, please call 239-334-4880.