DOROTHY M. BEATON
EASTON & IOWA CITY, IA

Easton & Iowa City, IA - Dorothy Mae Beaton, 92, affectionately known as Dot or Dottie, passed away following a bout with Covid-19 on Thursday February 4, 2021, at the Briarwood Healthcare Center in Iowa City, IA, with her loving family by her side. We thank everyone at Briarwood for their constant, loving care. A graveside service will be conducted later in the spring at Estes Park Cemetery, Easton.

She was born November 17, 1928 in Portland, the youngest daughter of Charles Burns and Alice (Meating) Burns. Her lifetime was blessed with the love of family, friends, and her un-shaking faith in God. She graduated from Salem High School in Salem, MA, and was the first in her family to pursue higher education, graduating with honors from the Salem Nursing Program in 1949. Dot married Duncan (Dunc) Beaton, Jr., in 1952 in Boston, MA, and they made their home together in several states (mostly New York, Pennsylvania and Maine) throughout their marriage.

She was a passionate and dedicated caregiver, and one of the first women in the 1970s to be the Director of Nursing at a nursing center in Doylestown, PA. She made each day count, being the smile, the embrace, the love we all needed when “the world is too much for us.”

First and foremost, Dot treasured her family. She was a beloved and loving friend, daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her wit, humor, love of games, limitless imagination and “Grammy magic” touched many lives and will carry on in her offspring. The matriarch of the Beaton Clan, she gave the best life lessons by living it fully and wrapping her arms around anyone who needed to know they were loved. Her love of family extended to her many precious pets. Part of Dot’s magic flowed from her fingertips as she played the piano or guitar at home, church, and celebrations with family and friends.

Besides music, she loved nature, gardening, making stained glass sun catchers, learning languages, and exploring the world, from searching for fairies in the woods to walking the Great Wall of China with Dunc when they were in their 80s. She was the greatest of pen pals and maintained her friendships for life. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her and forever in our hearts.

Survivors include her daughters, Debra Beaton of Houlton and Dawn Quelle (Fred Quelle) of Coralville, IA. She leaves thirteen grandchildren (Mark [Carissa], Holly [Jordan], CJ, Shaun, Christina, Matthew [Cherrika], Nathan, Alyssa, Nicholas, Zachary, Gabriella, Kathryn, and Ben), five great-grandchildren (Kyle, Emmalin, Caleb, Layne and Emma), two nephews (Kurt and Doug), 3 nieces (Roberta, Lynda and Patti), and daughter-in-law, Laureen (Schmidt). She was welcomed into heaven by her husband and three sons, Mark, Paul and Chip, and her parents and sister, Betty.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dot’s memory to the Pet Partners therapy animal programs at https://action.petpartners.org/page/66640/donate/1?is_custom_pretribute&_ga=2.235765505.1276885891.1612554552-1238830934.1612554552. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 144 Main Street, Fort Fairfield. You are welcomed to share a memory of Dot or send online condolences to her family at www.gibersondorseyfuneralhome.com .