Dorothy Jean Allison Bostock

Dorothy “Dot” Jean Allison Bostock, age 85, passed away on August 3, 2020 in Naples, Florida after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease complicated by COVID-19. Dot was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on March 23, 1935. She grew up with her sister Marge and her parents Dr. James B. Allison, a biochemistry professor at Rutgers University, and her mother Dorothy and her dog, Donna. Summers were spent enjoying the farm in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and the shore in Bar Harbor, Maine. She went to Penn State University where she studied Education. It was at Penn State that she met the love of her life-Jeff Bostock. After graduation, they married in 1957 and moved to Oak Ridge Tennessee where Dot taught elementary school and Jeff worked at the Y-12 National Security Complex. On her birthday in 1959 her first daughter Debbi was born, followed shortly by daughter and son- Nancy and Ken. She has eight grandchildren, three of whom are recently married so perhaps great-grandchildren are not far behind!

Dot will be remembered for her wonderful smile and friendly, compassionate personality. She enjoyed being a mother and was very active in Girl Scouting, swimming, and church activities. Friends and family also know that she was a wonderful cook. She taught kindergarten at Willow Brook Elementary School where her students loved her happy, caring personality and her innate ability to play most any song on the piano without scores! Dot loved the outdoors. She and Jeff learned to sail at Concord Yacht Club. She even earned a Captain’s Sailing certificate so that she could charter boats around the world! She loved sailing in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Captiva Island in Florida and on her favorite lake, Watts Bar, in Tennessee. She hiked to the top of Mt LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at least 4 times. Swimming was her favorite sport- she was never fast but she could swim for hours! She enjoyed sharing her love of swimming to children and taught for many years in Tennessee and South Carolina. Although she lived for nearly forty years in Oak Ridge, she also called Paducah, Kentucky and Seabrook Island, South Carolina home before moving to The Arlington in Naples, Florida with Jeff.

She is survived by her loving husband, Jeff Bostock; children, Debbi Bostock Herts and husband Michael Herts, Nancy Bostock Porter and husband Jim Porter, Ken Bostock and wife Amber Bostock; grandchildren, Allison and Matt Porter, Austin( Elizabeth), Katelyn and Sydney Bostock and Joshua (Sadie), Samuel (Elisabeth) and Rebekah Herts; sister-in-law, Carol Bostock Kittles; brother-in-law, Marshall Smith; and numerous loving cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. James B. Allison and Dorothy Lewis Allison and sister, Marjorie Allison Smith.

A private memorial service will be scheduled. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of Dot.