Dorothy Alice Stephens was born on August 26th, 1922 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Sergeant Herbert George Chipps and Alice Marie (Shadwell) Chipps. She died on January 2nd, 2022. Dorothy’s family was hit hard during the depression. All the kids went to work at a young age to help the family survive. When Dorothy was eleven years old, she went to Boston for a year to work as a nanny for a 5 year old.
Her first start with ice skating came on a frozen pond when her three brothers needed another player for their hockey team, so they handed her a stick and put her in front of the net. She was a die hard Montreal Canadians fan all her life. But she chose to pursue figure skating for herself. She auditioned and was accepted by Ice Capades and cherished her two tours across the US as some of the best times in her life as they traveled by train from town to town, developed close friendships, and enjoyed the sightseeing. When she was home between tours, she met James T. Stephens at the ice arena in Lachine when he was stationed nearby. He managed to win her heart and they were married on December 21, 1944.
Then Dorothy finished her next tour with Ice Capades while Jim finished his tour of duty with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the following year they spent the winter teaching skating on an outdoor rink in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at 6 degrees below zero with just a warming hut nearby. One winter was enough and they headed to Vancouver, B.C. to plan their next steps. They taught three years in Portland and two years in Tacoma before moving to Seattle to co-lease the Ballard Ice Arena with another couple. Dorothy tested through the seventh figure test and Junior level freestyle and gave up pursuing her gold test to coach Jim through his gold figure and freestyle test. Both Jim and Dorothy were Master Rated Coaches by the Professional Skaters Association. They coached several skaters to National Championships, helped several prepare for careers in an ice show and several of their skaters also became successful skating coaches.
They built and opened Highland Ice Arena in Seattle/Shoreline on December 14th, 1962, which is now run by their children, Rick Stephens and Terry Green and their spouses, Diana Stephens and Gary Green. Dorothy handled the finances and the skating school until 1980 when she began passing it onto Terry. She continued teaching private lessons while Jim focused more on the business. Dorothy, Jim, and his sister, Irene catered many banquets in the upstairs hall at the rink. As a Charter Member of the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce, she volunteered with various events and office tasks from 1997 through 2005.
Dorothy was a Life member of University Chapter #83 which merged with Greenwood Chapter #196 Order of the Eastern Star. She cherished seasonal weekly gatherings with a group of ladies from the Chapter to work on projects to sell at their annual bazaar. Dorothy served as Worthy Matron of University Chapter twice with Jim as her Worthy Patron. They served as Worthy Matron and Patron at Greenwood Chapter together four more times. She also served as the Guardian of Job’s Daughters Bethel #54 for a few years. When Jim joined the Commandry, she joined the Beauceants, which is for the wives of the men in the Commandry.
Dorothy was also an avid curler in her younger years and competed on ladies’ teams, mixed teams of two couples with Jim, and a few times with the whole family. She started skiing in her late 40’s took many ski trips each year to different resorts in Montana, Utah, and Colorado. She sometimes took her kids or grandkids with her. She also enjoyed tennis, golf, swimming, and watching the curling, tennis, golf, some NHL games, Mariners, and Seahawks.
Throughout their married life they almost always had a cat. Dorothy loved her cats and spoiled them rotten. She loved feeding the Stellar Jays and squirrels that came to the back patio for peanuts and watching the sparrows and thrushes at the bird feeders. She enjoyed the garden that Jim planted and maintained for her when she could not longer help pull weeds.
Dorothy became a US Citizen in 1991. She enjoyed the picnics, family birthday dinners and holiday gatherings with the kids, grandkids, great grandkids, and other relatives. She loved the warm summer days when she could sit on the back patio and watch the birds or the grandkids or great grandkids playing in the yard. Dorothy enjoyed knitting their wool curling sweaters, sewing, crocheting, embroidery and a variety of craft and needle work projects, many of which still hang on the walls of their home. She enjoyed life, traveling, making new friends and cherished the elderly friends who invested their lives in hers. While aiming for excellence in everything she did, she also inspired others to reach their very best.
She is preceded in death by her husband, James Thomas Stephens, parents, Herbert George Chipps and Alice Marie (Shadwell) Chipps, her brothers, Herbert William Redford Chipps, George Edward Chipps, and Wallace Henry Chipps. She is survived by her son, Rick Stephens, (daughter-in-law, Diana Stephens), daughter, Terry Green, (son-in-law Gary Green), grandchildren, Heather Green Mansfield, (husband, Justin Mansfield), Justin Green, (partner, Destiny Morfin), and Sarah Green, (partner, Andrew Garcia), and great-grandchildren Maximus and Valkyria Mansfield and Arianna Garcia, and numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family.
A Celebration of Life for both James T. Stephens and Dorothy A. Stephens will be held at the Nile Shrine Center on Sunday, February 27th, at 1:30pm. RSVP to their daughter, Terry Green is requested.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18