Dorothy E. Dalton

Dorothy E. Dalton, age 90, of Garnett, Kansas, passed away on Monday, October 25, 2010, at Golden Heights in Garnett, Kansas. Dorothy was born on July 8, 1920, in Garnett, Kansas, the daughter of Ralph and Mable (Harrison) Murphy. She graduated from Garnett High School with the Class of 1938. She graduated from Halstead Hospital School of Nursing in Halstead, Kansas, in 1941. She lived most of her life in Garnett, Kansas. She was united in marriage to her next door neighbor, high school sweetheart, classmate and best friend, Richard K. "Dick" Dalton, in Yuma, Arizona on June 21, 1941. After marriage, she and her husband resided in National City, California, returning to Garnett at the start of World War II, as Dick was fighting the War in Japan. She worked as a Registered Nurse at the Carter Hospital located downtown on 4th Street for 3 years during the War. She was among the first nurses in the original nursing staff to work at the new Anderson County Hospital when it opened in 1951. She remained at the Anderson County Hospital for the next 11 years. She then worked at the Osawatomie State Hospital in Osawatomie, Kansas, for the next 20 years. Dorothy retired in 1982. Dorothy loved to travel. She and her husband took several cruises before his passing. She was an avid reader and bird watcher. Dorothy cherished her family and was fiercely independent until the end. She was preceded in death by her father, Ralph P. Murphy in 1929 when Dorothy was only 9 years old; an infant daughter, Nancy Jane Dalton in 1944; her mother Mable Murphy McDowell in 1975; her step-father Roscoe N. McDowell in 1975; her brother, I.G. "Bud" Murphy of Montrose, Colorado in 2004; step-sister Doris (McDowell) Best of Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1994; her husband of 56 years, Richard K. "Dick" Dalton in 1997; and her son-in-law, James E. "Jim" North in 2009. Dorothy is survived by her daughter, Beverly A. (Dalton) North of Garnett, Kansas; sister-in-law Bonnie Murphy of Montrose, Colorado; two grandchildren, Gail D. (Reynolds) Brocklesby and husband Fred of Woodland Park, Colorado; Daniel S. Reynolds and wife Traci of Colorado Springs, Colorado; three great grandchildren, Shilo Brocklesby and Shea Brocklesby of Woodland Park, Colorado, and Jayden Reynolds of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and many nieces and nephews.