Aunt Dorothy Cheshier is another person who makes a difference. She was born in Montana and married my Uncle Cecil when she was sixteen. Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Cecil moved to California in the 1940's which is where they raised their three children. Aunt Dorothy makes a difference because she always was there for me for years when I needed support. She and Uncle Cecil were like parents to me, reaching out and taking me in and loving me so much.
But Aunt Dorothy did not just make a difference for me. She made a difference for many of the cousins in our family. She was the one who always sent cool gifts and gave such good support. She opened her home to many of us to live when we wanted to get started in California. She kept in touch with people and kept everyone connected. In addition, Aunt Dorothy loved my Grandma and would call her every
Tuesday.
Aunt Dorothy was fun too. She was fun to shop with and lots of fun to gossip with. She was also kind of opinonated and Uncle Cecil called her Norma Rae sometimes. She was positive and fun and was always there. Aunt Dorothy made a difference in my life because she took me under her wing and helped me through some really tough times. She reached out to me and she made me chicken soup and jello when I was sick and always told me how pretty I was and that I was not too fat and was important. She was instrumental in changing my perception about myself and pushing me to be my best.
Not a total cheerleader, she had opinions too and would let me know when I crossed the line.
Aunt Dorothy and my mom had a really jealous relationship and to this day I cannot determine which one fed the fire the most. I was often the subject of the tug of war between them and finally just deflated the last few years of Aunt Dorothy's life.
At her funeral in January of 2010, I saw pictures and spent time in her house and was reminded of the love and the specialness that she gave to me. She definitely made a difference in my life and the lives of others by her love, her gifts, her phone calls, and her cheerleading personality when times are down.
Regrets? I have a couple. Mainly that I did not spend enough time with her in the past couple of years and that I quite probably hurt her by my distance.
But this is about Aunt Dorothy, not me. She loved red. She loved to eat at Yolanda's in Ventura. She worked for years at the Broadway in the office. She watched the stock market show. She loved her grandkids and all of the cousins. She would stand up for what she thought was right, was a feminist in her own way, loved to shop and loved to talk and spend time with others.
Aunt Dorothy was my special sage and I will love her forever for this as will many members of the Lockart family.
