Dorothy A. Walz

Dorothy (Dottie) Anne Walz passed away at home in Valley Stream on January 9. 2025. She had been in home hospice
care for the last 27 months and was surrounded by her son Charles and her 2 cats, Rocky and Loki. She passed away at
the age of 89, just a few months short of her 90 th Birthday.

Dorothy Lightell was born in Queens, New York, on March 24, 1935. After High School, she worked as an executive
secretary for TWA and Kraft Food Company. She met Charles William Walz, and they were married on March 6, 1955.
They honeymooned upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. They lived in an apartment in Queens and had a
Son, Charles Jr., in June 1962 and another son, Alan Edward, in May 1965. In November1965, they bought and moved to
a house in Valley Stream and she quit her full time job to raise her family.

While her children were growing up, Dottie worked selling Avon. This allowed her to go door to door, where she met
and befriended many people in the neighborhood. She Loved meeting and talking to new people. She was also very
active in the PTA, becoming regional PTA president. She helped run a mother’s bowling league during the day as well as
a children’s bowling league after school. She organized many children’s book fairs for the schools. She was very active in
community affairs, especially concerning children, and fought to get crossing guards at busy intersections near
elementary schools. She was awarded a citation from the NY State Governor for her activism. She also became a
volunteer teacher to help out in the schools, especially with special needs children. In the late 70’s, the family went on
their first camping trip, and she fell in love with it and continued “tenting” . She then got a permanent trailer at Lake

Lauderdale Campground that she continued to go to until her final years when she couldn’t get around.
In the early 80’s, her husband Charlie began showing sign of early onset dementia. She continued her activism, but her
focus shifted to caring for him, especially after he retired from the NY Racing Association. The love of her life, Charlie,
passed away in July 1997.

In the years after her husband’s death, Dottie was a fighter who survived a stroke, spinal surgery, knee replacement
surgery, three hip replacement surgeries and finally, heart valve and pacemaker surgery in 2020. Between all this, she
continued to spend her summers at her trailer by the lake. She continued with her community activism, becoming
president of the Valley Stream Garden Club, and a board member of the Valley Stream Civilian Patrol, and was named
“Person of the Year 2013” by the Valley Stream Herald. She travelled to Washington, DC with her son Charles a few
times. She also traveled to Hawaii a couple of times, once with her son Alan and daughter –in- law Teri, she went on a
cruise to Alaska with friends, including a helicopter ride to the glaciers, and she travelled with friends on a river Cruise to
the Netherlands for a “tulip festival”. She made annual trips with her Friend Karen to the “Storytelling Festival” in
Tennessee as well as a drive across country to the Grand Canyon.

Dottie was always trying to help people and was very kind and loving. She always said her mother –in- law had the best
advice: “Laughter is the best medicine”. She was forever trying to keep people happy and laughing, often posting her
“funnies” on Facebook for her friends. She loved the theater and went to Broadway and local shows often. Dottie loved
museums and history too. She was an avid reader. She Loved playing cards and games. Dottie was a great artist who
created many beautiful paintings and drawings.

Dottie’s attitude of love and laughter, along with her many stories and life lessons, brought much joy to her many
friends and family, and a part of her will always live on through those who knew her.