Dorothy Colleen Wales

Dorothy Colleen Perry was born August 24, 1928, to Ora Paralee Stiles in rural Iduma, Texas. She spent much of her childhood there, attending Iduma and Florence schools. She passed away June 12, 2026, at the age of 97 years and 10 months.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Florence, Texas.

Dorothy married Aubrey Norwood on June 25, 1948. To this union was born one daughter, Belinda, and three sons, Stan, Bill, and Darin.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her mother Ora Stiles, her husband of 63 years A.N. “Goat” Wales, one son Stan Wales, and two sisters, Tempe Kallus and Celia Beard.

Surviving Dorothy is one daughter, Belinda Wales of Fort Worth, and two sons, Bill Wales of Florence, and Darin Wales (Lorene) of Lynchburg, Virginia. She is also survived by four grandchildren, Chris Hamilton (Belinda), Jing Lei, Zane, and Xin Wales (Darin), and one great grandchild, Cooper Hamilton (Chris).

Mom was a person who loved her pets and her family. That was the center of her world. Growing up, our house was something of a sanctuary for every stray cat and animal that wandered into our lives. It probably drove my Dad crazy, but Mom never turned a single animal away. That was just who she was. She had a soft heart for animals, and she couldn't stand to see a creature go without. She was a voracious reader, loved Blue Bell Ice Cream, Texas Longhorn Football, and her true crime TV series.

Besides the full-time job of raising one girl and three boys, Mom worked numerous odd jobs over the years. Early on, she worked at Mom’s Café in Florence, which is where she met Dad when he returned from WWII. She served as a teacher's aide at Jonah Elementary School outside of Georgetown, and later she worked at the Florence Post Office. Mom was a hard and diligent worker. And with all that going on, she and dad managed to make it to most of our school events and games.

Mom also loved to paint. She was taught by Florence local artist, Olene Stewart, and often painted bluebonnets and rural landscapes. She got pretty good at it. She even painted a nude female once, to the shock of the whole family. That was Mom, every once in a while she'd surprise you.

Mom loved a simple life on the farm, even with all its challenges. But she taught us to deal with things like that and to move on. Ninety-seven years is a long life, and she filled it with love and hard work.