Dorothy Rose Christison

Dorothy (Dol) Rose Freed Christison passed away Monday, January 21, 2019, just hours after her 102nd birthday, at Bronson Hospital in South Haven, MI.  Memorial services will be held at the Wilton Congregational Church at a later date. Dorothy will be laid to rest on September 7 th , at 10 a.m., at the Riverside Cemetery in Moline, Illinois. She was born January 21, 1917, to Elmer and Julia Rose (Zimmerman) Freed in South Bend, IN. Dol's passion for life and dance never faded. She learned her first tap steps from her father and mother who were competitive ballroom (waltz) dancers. She herself became a champion ballroom dancer later in life, winning many competitions in New York. She opened her first dance studio soon after graduating from Elgin High School, Elgin, IL, in 1935, teaching Ballet and Tap in Moline, IL. Her first date with George Lee Christison, which was a ride in an open cockpit bi-plane, was love at first sight. She married George on July 10, 1938, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Davenport, IA. They started their married life in Tucson, AZ, where Dol taught at Potter School for Girls and Greenfields School while George continued his career as a broadcaster for KVOA. They also owned and operated a chicken ranch, "Esperanza," adjacent to the Sequoia National Forest. She was an active volunteer for the Red Cross and USO. They returned to Moline following WWII, and operated the Christison Pharmacy, and Dol taught dance at her own studio, and at St. Katherine’s, in Davenport, IA. George's career move to McKesson and Robbins took the couple to Burlington, IA, where Dol continued teaching Ballet, Tap, and now Ballroom. She choreographed “Oklahoma” and “Bells Are Ringing” for the Civic Theater in Burlington. After a move to Wilton, CT, Dol expanded her interests to include Real Estate, which lead to a 53-year career and her own office. She kept her Real Estate certification active until 2018. She was a founding member of the Wilton Arts Council and Young Horizons which brought professional artists from various fields to perform and share their art with the Wilton School students. She was an avid supporter of Ballet Etudes, and continued her commitment to the arts by becoming a board member for the Connecticut Council for the Arts and the Council on Aging. She volunteered many hours over the years to the Yankee Fair for the Wilton Congregational Church, the Wilton Garden Club, and was lifelong Girl Scout and leader. Dol performed for six years in the Florida Follies in Boca Raton, Florida. Those performances benefited under privileged children in Florida.  The family is grateful for the compassionate and loving care Dol received at Bronson South Haven Hospital. Dorothy is survived by her daughters, Julie (Jerry) Portman of South Haven, MI, and Pamela Stivers of Cuenca, Ecuador; five grandchildren, Stephanie (Rob) Surns, Jennifer (Dave) Kindt, Brenda (Rob) Kindt, Nicole Portman, and Geory Stivers; eleven great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

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