Born on July 14th, 1934, Dorothy Dravis Garrett died of breast cancer on October 16, 2003.

Dorothy was a longtime Alaskan resident and passionate supporter of her family, the arts, her church (Central Lutheran), education, volunteerism and honest to god Democrats.

Born in Postville, Iowa, Dorothy Mae Dravis was the only child in a house filled with several generations of musicians. She majored in Music Education at Grinnell College and after graduation taught elementary school before marrying Robert "Bob" Garrett on August 9, 1958.

The couple moved to Danville, Indiana, where their three children were born. In October 1966, they relocated to Anchorage, Alaska when Bob was assigned to the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center.

While there, Dorothy pursued her passion for music, teaching piano, singing in TOSS and the community chorus. She also served as the Director of Music and choir director for Central Lutheran Church.

In 1975 she returned to teaching elementary school and went on to complete her M.A. and certificate of education administration in 1985. She retired in 1994 after 19 years of teaching in the Anchorage School District.

In addition to teaching full-time, Dorothy was committed to her family, local politics, and the Anchorage arts scene. She founded the annual American Guild of Organists' production of The Messiah and served as the AGO Dean for four terms.

She and Bob enjoyed hosting visiting artists with the Anchorage Concert Association as well as serving on their Board of Directors. She was thrilled to ferry around a senior member of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and his wife, to host young boys from the Vienna Boys Choir who had to be in bed by 9:00 pm on New Year’s Eve, and most especially, to drive her all-time favorite artist Bobby McFerrin to his hotel.

Our childhood was filled with memories of concerts, music, artists, and the companionship of long-time friends. She loved Anchorage, its people, and in the end wished more than anything to be "home".

She passed away in October after a passionate battle with metastatic breast cancer--outliving even her doctor's predictions by some five years. Her family was with her in her final weeks: her husband of 45 years, Bob, and their three children, Tom, Anne and Dan.

She fought her cancer with great grace and dignity. She did not let it defeat her; she would want to be remembered more for how she lived than for how she died.

See also

• The memory wall
• Facing end of life issues
• Giving back
• Supporting someone with cancer