Dorothy Daus CHARLESTOWN — Born in White Plains, New York, on Oct. 19, 1944, to German/Jewish immigrant parents, Gustav and Ida Meyer, who originally came from Leipzig, Germany, Dorothy had soon moved up to Charlestown, New Hampshire, with her parents. Her father was a handyman who loved to play the accordion and her mother, a homemaker. She remembers them speaking Yiddish and German. Unfortunately, at her ages of 13 and 17, her father and mother passed and a family in the local area took her in and became her guardians. She studied secretarial and typed 125 words a minute. After getting married in 1965, she became a stay-at-home mom taking care of her two children, Ruth and Douglas. In 1977, the family moved to Pawling, New York, where she loved taking care of her horses and chickens and various other animals that ventured through our 4-acre plot of land, even Canada geese and the occasional bird that would fall out of tree. She would feed it dog food until it got better and flew off. Since us kids can remember, she used to teach us about the Passover and share with us a piece of bread and a sip of grape juice and tell us about what it meant. As time went on, she eventually returned to work in a nursing home for a short period and then as a medical secretary to a doctor in the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Hospital in Wingdale, New York, and Mid-Hudson Hospital until her retirement in 2005. After retirement, she took care of her many animals and enjoyed growing vegetables in her garden. She believed the simplicity of life, never had a credit card, and always smiled. Oh, and she loved to talk.
