Dorothy Marie Lutley

DOROTHY MARIE LUTLEY, age 87, of Halifax, passed away on Thursday, the 26th of April 2018, at Whitehills Long Term Care Centre in Hammonds Plains, surrounded by her family. Born on the 29th of April 1930, in Halifax, she was the daughter of the late Jessie Viola Stone (Slaunwhite) and the late John William Stone.

Dorothy lived her life in the Halifax area. In her younger years she worked in the accounts office at Eaton’s Department Store with her lifelong friend Glenys Livingstone. Following that, she worked until retirement with the Royal Bank where she developed numerous friendships with colleagues and customers. She was so well liked that after her retirement the bank asked her to return on a part time basis as the customers were missing her. She did this for a few years and then decided to go into fulltime retirement that allowed her to spend more time with her family and friends who were the most important things in her life. She enjoyed having them over to play cards or just to chat and would throw together a little lunch for all to enjoy. This would include the goodies she routinely baked with her mother on Saturdays. She was the first person to offer to make something for any event that happened to be going on and is famous for her “shrimp mould” that was in high demand. Anyone who knew Dorothy knew she loved and enjoyed her food, especially lobster. One of her favorite times was going to PEI for the lobster suppers. After getting her drivers license at the age of forty, she also enjoyed her Sunday drives and going up to the valley to visit Judy and Mark at their trailer in Sherwood Forest. She especially loved listening to music and singing. She had a beautiful voice. When she was a little girl her father use to bring his work friends home to listen to her sing. She also loved to dance. Sometimes you would catch her and Johnny kicking it up in the kitchen and she was always on the dance floor when attending weddings and similar functions. She had a wonderful sense of humour and always greeted you with a big smile. If you wanted to know the truth you just had to ask Dorothy as she was as honest as the day is long and also a very loyal friend. Dorothy’s true love was her family. She adored her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and was so proud of all of them and loved them dearly. She enjoyed so much being all together as a family at Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and birthdays. Her face would light up just to see them walk through the door. She had only one sibling, her sister Helen, and they were very close. They spoke daily on the phone and enjoyed planning where they were going to eat that night for supper. They were a great support for each other over the years. Dorothy was also a big part of the Barrett family having known them most of her life and was especially close to Valerie and Bobby who were there religiously to support her when she needed them. Dorothy had a great sense of style and always looked her best when going anywhere. She was known for her weekly hair appointments at Sophia’s Hairstyling and was so attached to having Pauline do her hair just the way she liked it that she wouldn’t move out of the neighbourhood when transitioning into an apartment. After her hair appointment was the routine lunch at either the Cosy Snack Bar for her chowder or Johnny’s Snack Bar for eggs. The employees at both these restaurants were wonderful to her and she appreciated their kindness. Although Dorothy was not a sports enthusiast in her younger days she developed an interest in golf when Tiger Woods started playing and enjoyed watching him on TV. Anyone who knew Dorothy loved her. She had the kindest heart you can imagine and would do without for herself if it would help someone else. She made the world a better place just by being here and brought joy to so many people over the years. She will be deeply missed by her family and all who knew her.

Dorothy is survived by her daughters Helen Lewin (Joe), Judy Lutley, son Stephen Lutley, brother-in-law Richard Lutley, grandchildren Craig MacLaren(Amy), Tyler MacLaren(Kim), Daniele Pilon, Mark Lutley, Christopher Lutley Jr., Patrick Lutley, Julia Lutley and great-grandchildren Jacob MacLaren, Colton MacLaren, Grayson MacLaren and Edyn MacLaren.

She was pre-deceased by her husband, John Fraser Lutley, son Christopher Lutley (Marie) and sister Helen Stone.

Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday the 1st of May and funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday the 2nd of May. Both will be held at J. A. Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Drive in Halifax, with Deacon David Viscount officiating. Cremation has taken place and Dorothy will be laid to rest in Fairview Cemetery following the funeral service. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Alzheimer’s Society.

The family would like to thank the staff at Whitehills LTC Centre for the care and support they provided to Dorothy with a special thanks to Brittany Naugler and Diane Marsh who went the extra mile to make Dorothy’s time there more pleasurable.