Our “FAUNTIE”

 

                            O U R   “F A U N T I E”

         

Does the word “Fauntie” mean anything to you?  It’s a term used to describe a Fun Aunt-  protective like a Mom but constantly spoiling you and rarely says no.  My siblings and I had such a “Fauntie”.

Dorthy Faye McAllister started her life in Mesa, Arizona on April 30, 1937, the last of 5 children born to Luther and Susanna McAllister.  Her big sister (our mother Donna) reflects: “ I remember how excited I was to finally have a sister after three brothers!”  Dorthy was a beautiful red- headed little girl, but she was a sickly child.  When she was finally diagnosed with rheumatic fever, thinking a climate change would help, the family relocated to the Ogden, Utah area.  The cure included several months of bed rest which required that she have a tutor for schooling. She had no energy and painfully inflamed joints, so she was carried from bed to the dinner table or the bathroom or whatever was needed.  Finally, she was considered cured which ended several long years of being pampered. “ Needless to say, she was the family pet!”  She became very active again.  Donna remembers that “ she enjoyed making friends and had a lot of them.  She took up skiing, ice skating and loved life. “ Dot and I were close as sisters, we shared a room all the time we were at home and we occasionally got into it because she would get into my nail polish or make-up or such, but mostly we were good friends.  We depended on each other when we needed something. She loved my children and was the only babysitter we ever had until we moved to the other side of Ogden from the terrace. Even then, she came if I needed her.”

Byron recalls how much fun she was to us kids. “ On a hot summer day in late July in what was probably 1955 or 1956, a perky red-haired girl with pale skin, and her girlfriend, laid in their swim suits on a blanket spread on the lawn, getting too much sun, flipping through a stack of Photoplay magazines, playing vinyl 45 speed single song-per-side records and singing along. Dorthy’s “portable” record player still required an electric cord running to the house, but it could be carried by one teenager.  She loved music and had a collection of 45’s and was beginning to collect larger LP (long Play) records called “albums.”

The two girls, owners of poodle skirts and bobby socks, were about to enter their Senior year at Weber High School. They were completely care free and smiling widely as they sang along…”got along without ya before I met ya…gonna get along without you now” and  “I found my thrill…on Blueberry Hill.”

I was an impetuous 9 or 10 year old boy, reflects Byron, wanting in on the fun, but the girlfriend thought I was just a pest, so that probably made me pester them all the more. To defuse the situation and on a whim, Dorthy put on her latest record purchase, suddenly jumped to her feet and grabbed me up by both hands as she began to dance.  As I recall, she said “your problem boy, is that…and as the record started she cried out as she got me to dance about with her, “you ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, crying all the time…you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine!”(by Elvis Presley)  We spun about, danced and laughed until we both fell down on the grass. Aunt Dorthy included her nephews and her niece in the fun whenever she could- and that was often.  Her name just signaled fun to me.  When Aunt Dorthy became a really good ice skater and began to teach beginners to skate…my brother and I got new skates and Saturday morning lessons to go with them.  If Aunt Dorthy got a new Volkswagen Beatle, I got to drive it on dates.” 

Darla remembers a painful experience for Dorthy at the ice rink.  “Every year the students would put on an ice show. It was a big deal.  One time when Dorthy was pinning my costume I knocked the box of straight pins off the bench.  A few went on the floor but most of them went right down into Dorthy’s boot! I remember the pain on her face as she tried to get them out. She finally had to pull her foot out of her boot and as she did the pins stuck deeper into her foot. I don’t remember who cried more that day, me or her, but all the time she just kept saying, “It’s OK. It was an accident.” Darla continues;” from the story above you might think Dorthy had lots of patience but that is not necessarily true.  In fact, she was known for her temper.  We kids knew that if Dorthy got mad, you had better get out of her way. At the same time, we know who we could go to with our problems, who came running when we needed something, and who would defend us to the end, our Aunt Dorthy.”

Darla also remembers a time when she and our cousin LeAnn decided to play dress up and got into Dorthy’s shoes.  She had them organized and in boxes . Dorthy’s shoes where her pride and joy! After playing they hurriedly put them in boxes but they were too young to read well and had no idea which shoes went in which box.  As Dorthy came home she went to her room to change and let out the loudest scream. “WHO’S BEEN INTO MY SHOES!” In a flash Darla and LeAnn ran to a hiding place downstairs and waited for a long time until grandma came down to tell them that the coast was clear. It’s funny now but at the time Darla reflects, “ We thought our lives were over!” ( For the full story see Family Tree, Dorthy Faye McAllister, Memories, “ Shoes, Shoes and more Shoes”)

Some of my (Bruce's) favorite memories include ice skating and being amazed as my Aunt Dorthy performed a “Flying Camel”, spins, jumps and other amazing feats.  Probably my favorite times spent with Aunt Dorthy was doing dishes! Crazy I know!  It wasn’t doing the dishes that was so fun but she made it fun.  I’m pretty sure that it was Dorthy who taught me how to harmonize.  As we did the dishes we would sing together and harmonize with one another.  “Shine on harvest moon” was one of my favorites.

Byron remembers that it was just a few weeks after she was dancing and singing with him that “ Dorthy and two  of her friends were on a Sunday joy ride on Harrisville Road out toward Plain City when a man ran a stop sign and pulled across their path.  To avoid hitting him, Dorthy’s friend , the driver, swerved off the road and hit a tree.  Dorthy had been in the front passenger seat…but she was thrown forward violently and her face went through the windshield and back, putting her in Dee Hospital with dozens of lacerations on her face and her head wrapped up like a mummy. She missed her Senior year at high school…and had to eventually settle for finishing high school with an in home tutor. Her recuperation and rehabilitation took a long time and her face had to undergo several treatments to minimize her scars.  At first, the psychological damage swept her up. but being the resilient, positive person she had always been, she fought her way back and after some time, returned to the busy, perky, fun aunt she had always been…and she stayed single until she was 28 and so continued to spoil her nephews and niece for many years.”

While in the hospital she met a male nurse or orderly named Bob Bragonje whom she later married on March 23, 1965.  Two wonderful children soon blessed their home.  Kim Ann, a beautiful little redheaded girl born on June 9,1966 and the handsome Christopher Robert (Chris) born August 30, 1969. Dorthy loved her children and was a good little mom although her marriage was a difficult one eventually ending in divorce.  Dorthy and the kids moved in with her sister Donna and her family for a time to avoid the abuse while going through her divorce. Dorthy continued working at IRS in Ogden and met a retired military man named Tom Bruffy. They started dating and eventually Dorthy and her children moved to Castro Valley, California with Tom.  Tom was still married with his wife in a nursing home with a terminal illness. After she passed away, Tom and Dorthy got married in Reno.  We all went to Reno for the wedding and celebration.  Tom loved Dorthy and was good to her and her children so we were all excited for them.  Her sister Donna continues Dorthy’s story.

“Tom and Dot were doing well together until Dot got sick.  The doctor thought she had a bad gall bladder and went in to remove it but found out she was full of cancer.  They gave her about 3-4 weeks to live but she lasted for almost a year. Al and I closed up our house and went to California where I took care of her until she passed away. I never have regretted one minute of what I did to make her life easier.  She was the best sister anyone could ever have. She would have done the same for me.”

Byron made an effort to visit her from Texas a few times while she was sick and remembers “one time when she was conscious she recognized me immediately, smiled broadly through her pain, and asked how I was getting along and how I had managed to get to California to see her…even on her death bed, she was still concerned for me.”

Dorthy left her mortal life on August 16, 1994 at the age of 57.  A short life by today’s standards but a life well lived.  Dorthy wasn’t perfect as none of us are but to Byron, Bruce, Darla, Brent and Bart  and no doubt to LeAnn and Kelley, Ed, Brian and Sue and PJ.  She WAS the PERFECT AUNT and a real Fauntie !

  On your birthday April 30^th we will all remember and pay tribute to you DEAR DORTHY-  you taught us how to have fun in life and for that we ALL will forever be grateful!

The Grandparent Chronicles

PS- For full versions of stories and more photos go to-familysearch.org/tree/Dorthy Faye McAllister/memories