Dorothy Ellen Cheatham passed away Thursday, September 12, 2019, at Capital Medical Center after brief illness. She was 96 years old. Dorothy was born May 29,1923 in Ellensburg, WA. She was the daughter of Fred and Marguerite Cheatham. Her sister is Laura, who is 17 years younger. Dorothy was a longtime resident of Thurston County. She graduated from Hayes Elementary, a one room school, and Olympia High School. She attended Washington State College and Pacific Lutheran College. But the college life did not appeal to Dorothy and she returned to Olympia after a year. In 1942 she joined the Washington State Department of Employment Security. In 1955, she came to work for the Department of Institutions, as a clerical supervisor. In 1959, she was promoted key punch supervisor. In 1961, she became supervisor in charge of the keypunch section for the department, which later became the Department of Social and Health Services. She stayed in that position until she retired in March 31,1974, after 31 and a half years of state service. Dorothy appreciated music. She was a trumpet player and a member of the Olympia High School marching band. She was particularly fond of John Phillip Sousa marches. Later in life, she would play Sousa's music on a record player and march around the room as a form of exercise. A lifelong passion for Dorothy was bowling. She regularly bowled two times a week at Westside Lanes and was the member of a number of teams over the years. She was proud of her scores. Her average scores were 150 to 160. And her top scores were over 200. She kept bowling into her 80's. A new car was one of her pleasures. Early on, an Oldsmobile salesman taught Dorothy how to drive. Since that time, and until she could no longer drive, she bought a new car every two years, always an Oldsmobile! But it was a means to get around, not a fetish. Dorothy was shy by nature, she liked to read. She was a fan of Reader's Digest books and also tales of mystery. Dorothy was a longtime member of United Churches of Olympia. She participated in church projects where she felt she could contribute. 09/25/19 This included helping in the church office and working with the church program for the homeless. Besides service to the community through the church, Dorothy served on the board of the Thurston County Humane Society for a number of years where she did office work and participated in fund raising. She was also a greeter at the Amtrak station in Lacey for a number of years. It was something outside her comfort zone, but she did it for the community. Dorothy is survived by her sister, Laura Hahn and husband Fletcher, Albuquerque, NM, nieces Elaine Wilwerding, Omaha NE, and Leslie Aiona, Seattle, WA and cousins Donna Wiest and Terry Isaacson, Olympia, WA. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday September 28th at 10:00am at Mills & Mills funeral home in Tumwater, WA, Followed by a graveside service at Mountain View cemetery in Lakewood, WA.

Published in The Olympian on Sept. 27, 2019