Dorothy Ellen James, 69, of Dolgeville, N.Y., beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend, has left this world and is on to her next spiritual journey.
Dorothy was born on September 4, 1955, in Geneva, N.Y., the fourth of six children of Robert Donald Dixson and Mary Elizabeth Dixson (Jones). The family moved to Potsdam, N.Y., where Dorothy grew up and graduated from Potsdam Central High School in 1973.
Dorothy wasted no time starting her adult life, marrying the love of her life, John Ivan James Jr., on July 21, 1973, in Potsdam. The couple moved to Deerfield Beach, Fla., for a year before returning to the North Country to start a family.
After the birth of their three children in Potsdam, the family lived in Kent Island, Md., before settling in central New York, ending up in the Dolgeville area, where she lived and which she called home for the next 44 years. In the early ’90s, as her children grew older, Dorothy went to college at Herkimer County Community College – in her own words – “to learn new things.” Shortly after finishing college, Dorothy began her career as a home health aide for Catholic Charities of Herkimer County, Herkimer County Hospice and the Herkimer County Public Health Department, a job she held for more than 20 years.
Dorothy left a lasting impression on so many families in Herkimer County. She was kind and compassionate. She was a helper and treated everyone with respect. She would often take house calls from her patients. They knew they could always count on Dorothy when they needed anything, from medication pickups to grocery runs to taking pets to vet appointments, and she would even bring them lotto tickets and candy as small gifts to brighten their days.
Upon retiring in 2017, she regularly volunteered with the Dolgeville Forward Cat Program, finding homes for stray cats and providing transport for the trap/neuter/return program. Dorothy enjoyed knitting and cooking, and she loved a good crossword puzzle. She had a wicked sense of humor, one that she passed on to her children and granddaughter.
Her lasting legacy will be her commitment to her family. It was the most important thing to her. Whether it was helping raise her two younger sisters after her parents’ divorce or putting aside her personal ambitions to raise her own children, she firmly believed in giving them a better life than the one she had. And the proudest moment of her life came on November 11, 1995, when her only grandchild, Annabelle Lee, was born. The two shared a special bond that can only be described as soulmates.
Dorothy was predeceased by her mother, Mary Dixson, and father, Robert Dixson; mother-in-law, June Martin; sister-in-law Cynthia Abdallah; brothers-in-law Gary Wheeler and Alan Matthews; and two special nephews, Rick Matthews and Joseph Wheeler.
She is loved and mourned by her husband of 53 years, John James Jr. of Dolgeville, and their three children, Casey James of Dolgeville; John James III and his partner, Mary Alice Keator, of Burlington, Vt.; and Erin James and her partner, Matthew Long, of Dolgeville. She was a devoted grandmother to Annabelle Lee-Davis and her husband, Cameron Lee-Davis, of Syracuse, N.Y. She leaves behind her loving siblings Barbara Eckhardt and husband George “Hi” Eckhardt, Mary Wheeler, Robert Dixson and wife Vikki Dixson, Bonnie Murray, and Emily Boyer and husband William Boyer; and dozens of cousins, nephews, nieces and friends whom she loved dearly.
Calling hours are on Saturday, March 22, 2025, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Miller-Plonka Funeral Home in Dolgeville, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Dorothy’s name to 13thirty Cancer Connect or to the Dolgeville Forward Cat Program.
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2025.