Dorothy L. Berg

Dorothy was born on November 27, 1925 in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Louise Marie (Doran) and John W. Nugent.

Dorothy attended P.S. 189 and Girls’ Commercial where she prepared for her career as a stenographer. Her first job was at the Brooklyn Navy Yard where she met the dashing, Coast Guard Lieutenant (JG), Paul Axel Berg, in 1947. They married on April 14, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan.

During Paul’s 34 years of service with the Coast Guard, they were subsequently stationed in Astoria, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Galveston, Texas. Upon his retirement, they returned to live and work various places in the greater Seattle area. They also had a cabin at Indian Beach on Camano Island, Washington, where countless family occasions and holidays were celebrated by their cadre of fun-loving family and friends. They also enjoyed many years as Arizona snowbirds.

Always ahead of her time, Dorothy was a staunch supporter of women’s, civil, and gay rights and she raised three children while being employed full-time. She retired from her last and favorite job as secretary to the headmaster of the Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington in 1971.

Dorothy’s love of dancing, puppy dogs, casinos, travel, beaches, lighthouses and Frank Sinatra as well as her infectious laugh will be long remembered by all who knew her. She was also deeply patriotic and generous to a fault. She took all her kids and grandkids to Emerald Downs for lunch every 4th of July and, she would take everyone to a musical or seasonal play and out to dinner at Christmas.

She is survived by her daughters, Leslie Louise (husband Harvey) Hamel of Kingston, Washington, Barbara Anne (husband Jens) Peitersen of Kirkland, Washington, and son, Paul Raymond (wife Kimberley) Berg of San Jose, California, as well as her five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband of 45 years, her parents, and her younger brother, John.

The family will hold a private celebration of Dorothy’s life when they gather for a salmon fishing trip this July at Long Beach, Washington. Her ashes will be placed off of the coast in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean, near where the Coast Guard deposited Paul’s ashes in 1992.

Memorial donations may be made to Evergreen Hospice, Paralyzed Veterans of America, or the charity of your choice.

The family wants to thank all the caring people at Evergreen Hospice as well as her live-in caregiver, Certified Nursing Assistant Nadine Wintermyer for making it possible for her to stay in her own home until it was time to make her transition. Nadine and her daughter, Alleigh, were the angels who comforted and cared for her daily for the past three years.

A cross-stitch sampler in Dorothy’s kitchen reads: “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Mama was always happy and now is eternally so.