Dorothy Keeler Stickney
Dorothy “Dottie” Keeler Stickney, 77, of Hollis, N.H., has passed on from this life and embarked on her next journey. After a brave and mighty battle with cancer she passed peacefully May 16 surrounded by her family at the Community Hospice Center in Merrimack, N.H. Born June 22, 1940, in Lowell, Mass., she was the wife of Herman Stickney, of Hollis, with whom she shared 22 years of marriage and adventure. Dottie was the daughter of the late Manuel and Emily (Lawrence) Bettencourt. She was predeceased by her brother, Robert, her loving aunt Evelyn Lawrence, and her first husband, David Keeler.
Dottie grew up in Lowell as part of a very vibrant Portuguese community. She earned her RN from Catherine Labouré School of Nursing in Dorchester, Mass., and spent her professional career taking care of others. She had a special fondness for the elderly and spent her career caring for people toward the end of their lives. She worked for the Courville Communities in Nashua, and most recently for Tewksbury Hospital in Massachusetts, from where she retired.
The dedicated mother of four daughters, Dottie loved taking care of and spending time with family. She passed on to them her love of food and cooking, reading, movies, puzzles, debating politics, gardening, children, animals, and the beach. She especially enjoyed taking road trips with Herman, traveling to Aruba and Tobago in the Caribbean, and playing the slot machines at Foxwoods. Dottie was a talented knitter and created wonderful pieces for her whole family. She will be forever cherished and remembered as an outstanding caregiver, mother, wife, grandmother, and friend. She was fierce and she was fun.
In addition to her loving husband, survivors include her children Cyndy (Keeler) Carlson of Nashua, N.H., Sharon Keeler and Donna St. Hilaire of Portsmouth, N.H., Kristine Keeler and Lindsey Hayes of Rye, N.H., and Elizabeth (Keeler) and Hugh “Kip” McLellan of Nashua. She also is survived by her stepchildren Spencer and Jennifer (Belanger) Stickney of Hollis, Shannon Stickney of Vero Beach, Fla., Greg Lingley and Kristen Hoffman of Hollis, and Michael Lingley of Long Island, Maine. She adored her grandchildren Amber Carlson and her fiancé Eric Jones, Cait and Samuel McLellan, Sam and Hunter Stickney, Emma Kate Lingley, and her great-grandson Sawyer McLellan Dedousis. She also leaves in this life her best friend Ellen Prokop of Haverhill, Mass., and many dear friends, cousins and extended family members, including her niece and nephew Emily Carter and Michael Bettencourt of Virginia Beach.
Her family would like to extend a special “Thank You” to the staff of the Community Hospice House in Merrimack who took exceptional care of Dottie in her final days.
SERVICES: Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, May, 24, from 5 to 8 pm at the Davis Funeral Home, 1 Lock St., Nashua. A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, May 25, at 10:30 am at the Congregational Church of Hollis, 3 Monument Square, followed by a Celebration of Life reception from noon to 3 pm at the Alpine Grove Banquet Facility Pavilion Room, 19 South Depot Road, Route 111A, Hollis. Relatives and friends are invited to all as we reminisce and celebrate Dottie’s life. As a remembrance and in lieu of flowers, gifts in Dottie Keeler’s name may be made to the two organizations she supported: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children.
The DAVIS FUNERAL HOME, One Lock Street, Nashua has been placed in charge of arrangements. An online guestbook is available at www.davisfuneralhomenh.com, (603) 883-3401 “ONE MEMORY LIGHTS ANOTHER.”