Monica Dorr Burdeshaw

She was born on August 5, 1933, in Newport News, Virginia, to Sheelah Murphy Dorr and Colonel Henry W. Dorr. Monica spent her early childhood in Texas at Randolph Field, where her father served in the Army Air Corps. She later attended boarding school in Geneva, Switzerland, and went on to Middlebury College in Vermont, where she was crowned Winter Carnival Queen her senior year.

Monica was an avid skier. She first learned to ski in the Alps as a teenager and went on to become a standout member of the Middlebury College ski team, excelling in downhill and giant slalom events. Her talent earned her an invitation to train with the U.S. National Ski Team. Her adventurous spirit on the slopes was something she carried throughout her life, embracing every new challenge with enthusiasm.

Following graduation in 1954, Monica moved to New York City, where she worked for an advertising firm and fondly recalled her time among the “Mad Men” of Madison Avenue. She later joined her parents in Athens, Greece, where she taught fourth and fifth grade at the American Embassy School. It was there that she met the love of her life, William Brooksbank Burdeshaw, a dashing young Army lieutenant serving as aide-de-camp to General Richard Harrison. After a brief courtship, they married in London, honeymooned across Europe, and eventually settled at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where Bill was stationed.

Throughout Bill’s Army career, Monica was the epitome of an Army wife—gracious, resourceful, and endlessly supportive. She raised four children, taught Sunday school, and volunteered with the American Red Cross. At her children’s swim meets at Kenwood, she was always on deck with a stopwatch in hand—sometimes forgetting to start it in her excitement over the race. She was also an accomplished businesswoman, serving on the boards of Burdeshaw Associates and the Knollwood Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. She revived and expanded her mother’s British washcloth company, Vicora, and later founded her own successful antique print and book business, The Print Portfolio Gallery, which she ran for 44 years.

Monica had a deep love of art, literature, and history, and she pursued all of them with enthusiasm. She earned a master’s degree in English Literature from Texas Western and completed courses in bookbinding and art appraisal. Her intellectual curiosity never waned; she was an active member of the Decorative Arts Trust.

A passionate traveler, Monica explored the world with Bill and close friends, visiting Europe, Russia, and Asia. She also cherished time closer to home—relaxing with Bill at Half Moon Bay in Jamaica, skiing and golfing in Keystone, soaking up the sun in Fenwick Island, and spending relaxing summers with family in Damariscotta, Maine. She loved flowers, developing beautiful gardens both at her home and at the Lake. Antiquing was both fun and exciting for her; she frequented almost every antique shop on Route 1 in Maine, filling her home with wonderful pieces.

She had a lifelong love for dogs, always sharing her heart and home with at least one four-legged friend. She leaves behind her beloved Jack Russell, Max, who rarely left her side.

Monica is survived by her four children—Leath Hiegel (Richard), Thomas Burdeshaw (Lynn), Anne Shrout (Joseph), and Alison Hereford (Lee), her ten grandchildren, who affectionately called her “Mum” (Colleen, Brooks, Clare, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Jamie, Maddie, Lilly, Katie, and Carter), one great-grandchild (Bertie), and her sister, Maude Dorr.

Family and friends are invited to pay their respects at Joseph Gawler’s Sons Funeral Home in Washington, D.C., on December 2 from 6:00–8:00 p.m. A private graveside service for family and close friends will be held on December 3 at 9:00 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.

Monica will be remembered for her boundless curiosity, her grace, and her unwavering devotion to family.