Dorothy Morton

Dorothy (Dot) Susan Saintsing Morton, born August 6, 1927, passed away peacefully on August 21, 2018 at the age of 91, with a sure faith in the resurrection. "Tunce" to her brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, grew up on a tobacco farm near Thomasville, North Carolina. She was the oldest daughter of Clarence and Annie Craven Saintsing and lived with her five brothers (Raeford, Nub, Buck, Bobby, and Jimmy) and two sisters (Deanie and Peg) in a little hilltop farmhouse off Midway School Road. Jimmy and Peggy survive her.

Life on the farm was not easy. Dot would often recall that she "couldn't wait to get off that hoe handle!" In the early 1950s, she enrolled in nursing school at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her infectious laughter, kind heart, and flame-red hair won the affections of a young Canadian student at NC State's engineering school, Jim Morton. Jim and Dot were married in Raleigh in May 1953 and moved to Montreal where Dot worked in a doctor's office. On visits to Jim's parents in Windsor, Ontario, they'd often play bridge together. When Dot would win a hand off her father-in-law (an Englishman), he'd exclaim "Dorothy, you dirty little pup!" which delighted her.

Jim and Dot had three children: David (Linda), Kevin (Ruthie) and Anne (Steve). Dot stayed home to raise them in Washington, North Carolina where Jim worked at National Spinning Company. When her kids were older, Dot returned to home health nursing, driving around Beaufort County to help the elderly in their need. It was hard work, but Dot loved her patients.

In addition to taking care of her family, Dot enjoyed creating things - painting, ceramics, macramé and artistic flower arrangements from her garden. She was the primary caregiver to the numerous succession of dogs (no cats!) in the family household and provided nonstop taxi service for her children's comings and goings. She loved smoking cigarettes, which she eventually gave up for the greater good, and also enjoyed a good cup of coffee. But perhaps her greatest pleasure was spending time with her beloved sisters, "sliding racks" ‘in stores or taking road trips all over the Carolinas and Virginia. When the grandchildren came along, Dot was a doting Grammy who loved the company of her granddaughters Mary, Michaela, and Anna Claire and her grandsons, Seth and Joe.

In 1989, she and Jim moved to Winston-Salem to be closer to family. "The Sisters" organized an annual Christmas get together of the Saintsing clan which continues to this day. In the last decade of her life, Dot lived with Alzheimer's disease. Although it robbed her of many memories, Dot still knew most of her family up until the last few months of her life. Her sisters, brothers, and their spouses, her many nieces and nephews, and their spouses -- they all loved Dot well. When she could no longer give assistance, she received it with gratitude and a sweet smile. The family is particularly grateful for the kindness and loving care provided by the staff at Trinity Elms in the last few months of Mom's life.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, August 25, 2018 at Parklawn Memorial Park, 2730 Peters Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem 27127. The family will receive friends from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at Hayworth Miller Funeral Home, 3315 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, 27103,

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Trinity Elms Health and Rehab, 7749 Fair Oaks Drive, Clemmons, NC 27102.

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