When 99 year old Dorathy arrived at ABODE, we couldn’t know the impact she would have on staff, volunteers, and our other Guests. Dorathy is a wonderfully sharp-witted woman who has charmed us all with her humor, tenderness, insistence on “double raisins” in her oatmeal, and her love of going outside in her bed to watch the birds and search for Max, the cat. She has become known for frequently breaking into song (with or without an audience) and speaking prayers of blessing each day for the other Guests of ABODE (and grieving Guests’ deaths as they’ve happened during her stay).

Each Guest we are privileged to come to know at ABODE changes us as we bear witness to who they are and how they live their last hours and days. Dorathy, perhaps, says it best: “We are all companions on this journey.” Dorathy is under the care of Devoted Care Hospice.

This tribute was written by Navigator Rachel Epp Miller