Dorothy Hutchinson Anderson

Dorothy always said she lived three lives. The first began at birth in 1934 in Springville, Utah, to Manferd and Bernice Hutchinson. In the 1940s, her father moved the family to Orange County, California, where she graduated from Santa Ana High School and formed a cherished group of lifelong friends. Dorothy’s sparkling personality and beauty won her the titles of Homecoming Queen and Miss Utah in the Cherry Blossom Festival during her college years at the University of Utah where she also served in the ROTC. In 1955, Dorothy married surgeon-to-be Jerry Nilsson; they had four children, Kimball, Michelle, Kristopher and David. Though the marriage didn’t last, Dorothy was resilient and, as a single mother in 1963, she co-founded a successful IBM punch card business operated solely by women. After selling the business for a profit in 1967, she moved her family to Lausanne, Switzerland for a magical year and a half.

Upon returning to California, Dorothy’s second life began when she met Patrick Hurley, a pharmacist born in Park City, Utah. The two fell in love and married in 1970. They spent their 40-year marriage building a life in Newport Beach that included family, friends, travel, interesting careers, and service in their Latter-day Saint community. Dorothy held many leadership positions in her ward and stake, including seven years as the Newport Beach Stake Relief Society President. She worked closely with government officials, as well as church leadership in Salt Lake City, to welcome, provide shelter, clothing, translation services, and care for thousands of dispossessed Vietnamese refugees arriving daily at Camp Pendleton, following the fall of Saigon in 1975. In 1989, Dorothy survived a formidable battle with stage 4 breast cancer, emerging from that dark year more tenacious than ever.

Dorothy also started and managed multiple businesses including two Häagen-Dazs ice cream stores in South Coast Plaza and Laguna Beach, a travel agency, and an apartment building in Anaheim. She and Patrick built a home on Balboa Island in 2007. Dorothy loved all aspects of designing her beautiful home–from the exterior paint to the placement of furniture and artwork. Her welcoming home was often filled with dinner groups, study sessions with her beloved girlfriends, Christmas boat parade watch parties and every holiday celebration, as well as children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Dorothy loved a party, especially one that involved See’s chocolate. She also found great enjoyment and meaning in her association with the Pacific Symphony over the years.

Sadly, in 2005 Dorothy lost her beloved son, Kristopher Nilsson, followed a few years later by the death of her husband. After Patrick’s death, Dorothy was determined to continue living a life full of activity, learning, family, friends, and travel.

The last years of Dorothy’s life were among her happiest. In 2018, her third life began when she met someone very special: Dr. Hal Anderson of Roseberg, Oregon. Hal married his sweetheart, Dorothy, on November 30, 2019. The two lived together on Balboa Island, traveled, and spent time with dear friends and family for several blissful years.

We lost our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, Dorothy Hurley Anderson, to a short illness on March 10, 2023. She is survived by her husband Dr. Hal Anderson, three children, Kimball L. Nilsson (Teresa), Michelle N. Curry (Stanton), and David M. Nilsson (Kirsten) as well as 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Dorothy will be greatly missed.

Funeral services for Dorothy will begin at 10 am, Saturday, March 25, 2023 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2150 Bonita Canyon Drive, Newport Beach, CA. Flowers may be sent to Pacific View Mortuary & Memorial Park.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pacificviewcalifornia.com for the Anderson family.