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Dorcas Durkee Obituary

Dorcas Durkee gracefully passed away on October 23rd. Dorcas was born in Denver, Colorado to Obie Sue and Edward V. Dunklee. She attended the Kent School for Girls and graduated from Bryn Mawr College. During World War II, she served as the youngest Red Cross worker in India. She married William Porter Durkee III in Denver on November 12, 1946, an occasion marked by much joy and a major blizzard. She received a master's degree from Yale University Drama School. The Durkees lived in Washington D.C. as well as New York city; Paris, France; and Munich, Germany, with Dorcas leading the family on great travel adventures. In 1980, Dorcas and William retired to Colorado Springs. She became involved in the Tuesday Luncheon Club, Star Bar Players, St. John Chrysostom's, Salvation Army and many other organizations, formal and informal. At the Chapel of Our Savior, she was the first woman elected as Senior Warden, or lay leader, in 1983. She wrote and produced the play for the Ramona Festival in 1984 to celebrate the centennial of Helen Hunt Jackson's novel. She played Miss Daisy in the Star Bar Players production of "Driving Miss Daisy," mis-cast as a curmudgeon but pulling off the role with aplomb. Predeceased by her husband and son William, Dorcas is survived by daughter Vaughan Durkee McTernan of Colorado Springs, son Edward Durkee of Lake Carmel, NY and their respective families. A memorial celebration will take place Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 10:30AM, at the Chapel of Our Saviour Episcopal Church with a reception following at The Colorado Springs School's Trianon, 21 Broadmoor Avenue. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Salvation Army or to Pikes Peak Hospice.

Published by The Gazette from Oct. 25 to Oct. 26, 2007.
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Dear Vaughan and Kevin,

All the Langes will surely miss Dorcas and her gracious love. As my father's dear first cousin we had grown up hearing wonderful stories about her, but living in San Antonio, we did not know her. When our son, Casey, attended Colorado College Dorcas adopted him as her charge. She gave him a key to her house and invited him to come any time he wanted to get away from dorm life. She treated him with love and respect, and didn't even mind when he stored his snow tires and boxes of junk in her garage over the summer! She loved him just the way he was and never tried to remake him as many of us do with teenagers. Casey came to adore her and think of her as a grandmother. She was a life-changing force for good in his life at a time when he needed it.

Dorcas also took us in whenever we were there for parent weekends or visits. When she came to San Antonio she set aside time to be with the Langes and Meyers. She came here by herself for Casey's wedding two years ago, which meant so much to all of us. She phoned and wrote to stay in touch, and always included a quirky poem in her Christmas card.

Thank you for sharing her with us. God bless you with sweet memories of a one-of-a-kind friend, mother, grandmother to all.

With love, Kitty and Rich Lange

Kitty Lange

December 1, 2007

A Visit with Aunt Dorcas

By Laurie Dunklee

Aunt Dorcas lived in a big yellow house with a wide veranda that faced west onto the foothills of Colorado Springs. Her house was filled with brightly colored paintings, exotic antiques, two sweet old dogs, and her luminous spirit.

A visit with Dorcas began with our arrival at the kitchen door, where we would be greeted with hugs, kisses and much wagging of tails. The house was always cool, even in the summer. From the high-ceilinged grand entryway to the freshly aired upstairs bedrooms, the house welcomed laughter and conversation. Once we had settled our things in the “blue bedroom” – it was painted blue and had a tiny blue attic-like bathroom – my husband and I came downstairs to settle in vast chairs in the sitting room, looking out at Cheyenne Mountain. Then the stories would begin.

Dorcas had more stories than a library full of books. She had lived many lives in her 80 plus years and she had a word painting for each large and small incident that had shaped her life. She was a trained actor and writer and she never forgot the stories told to her by older generations. So a story that began with her meeting John F. Kennedy in the Presidential rose garden might wind up with her grandfather’s recollection of his grandfather telling him Lincoln had just been shot. Mostly the stories had no ending; they merely segued into other stories until it was dinnertime.

Every fall the grand front hall was filled with a long table, festooned with 12 birthday cakes, pots of flowering mums, and place settings for all 25 or 30 family members gathered for a birthday party. In the tradition of my grandfather, Dorcas celebrated her October birthday by celebrating everyone else’s birthday too. After a buffet supper of ham, fresh green beans and scalloped potatoes, the family would gather in groups around the cake denoting their birthday month and we would sing “Happy birthday to everybody.”

Dorcas’ generosity extended far beyond birthdays. When you needed something she shared whatever she had. When I was a young woman starting my career, she often gave me her well-tailored suits and blouses to wear. She was so generous with her clothing that more than once, after I admired a blouse she was wearing, I would find it in my suitcase when I got home.

What Dorcas shared best was herself, giving encouragement and insight in no small measure. Always she was interested in what I was writing, in the music I was playing, in how my job was going. When I told her my news she would take my hand and raise it in the air, as if I was the victor, the unrivaled champion over life’s challenges. “Bravo, Bravissimo!” she’d exclaim.

My last visit with Dorcas was the day before she died. A short illness had emaciated her body and left her unable to speak or even move her eyes. But as Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” played on the small CD player next to her bed, she squeezed my hand and lifted it high.

Bravo, Dorcas.

Laurie Dunklee

October 25, 2007

Vaughn, I was deeply saddened to hear that Your mom had passed. While we know she is in a much greater place, it does not always help to ease the pain we feel! I have the most wonderful memories of working for her and spending time learning from such a fantastic lady. Please extend my thoughts to everyone as I will be thinking of you on Saturday. My prayers are with you and the family. May God continue to carry you all through this difficult time and please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
God Bless you all!!
Shea
(Shirli's daughter)

Shea Cavacini (Berglund)

October 25, 2007

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