COLUMBUS
Dotty Lorene Thompson Dinkins passed away on August 30, 2017, under the care of Our Hospice of South Central Indiana at Four Seasons Health Center.
Dotty was born February 11, 1921, in Akron, Ohio, and was the daughter of Charles Harry and June Belle (Warner) Thompson. She moved to Columbus from Mishawaka, Indiana, in 1935 and graduated from Columbus High School in 1938. She married Paul N. Dinkins on October 10, 1942.
She was employed as a secretary at H.C. Whitmer Company and during Paul’s service in the Navy she worked at Prudential Insurance Company in Chicago. She was a graduate of Indiana Business College and Patricia Stevens Career School.
Dotty had a love of scouting and was a secretary in the Girl Scout office, and was a Girl Scout Director at Youth Camp. She co-chaired the first Girl Scout cookie sale in Columbus and was a lifelong Cub Scout den mother and trainer of den mothers as she raised her three sons. Dotty and Paul were charter members of Asbury United Methodist Church and Dotty was Asbury’s first woman lay leader, past church secretary, and past trustee.
Other than her 75-year marriage and three sons, Dotty’s proudest accomplishment was leading aqua aerobics classes at the Foundation for Youth pool three days a week for over 34 years. Dotty reluctantly retired from the classes in May, 2016, at age 95. Her aqua aerobics activities kept her young and she helped hundreds of men and women over the years with this great form of exercise.
Dotty is survived by her sons, Doug (Sharen Clark) Dinkins of Holland, Michigan, Greg (Maryann Berkowski) Dinkins of Columbus and Philip (Ed Lally) Dinkins of St. Petersburg, Florida; grandson, Scott (Teresa) Dinkins of Wabash, Indiana; granddaughter, Kim (Tim) Ballew of Houston, Texas; great-grandchildren, Andrew, Alex and Addison Dinkins and Zachary Ballew; and a sister, Evelyn Cue of Ft. Myers, Florida.
Dotty was preceded in death by her parents; husband Paul on August 21, 2017; sister, Opal Atwood; brother, Charles Thompson; and another sister, Mayme Bowers.
A combined memorial service for both Dotty and Paul will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, September 23, 2017, at Four Seasons Chapel, 1901 Taylor Road, Columbus, IN, 47203.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be made to either the Columbus Foundation for Youth, 405 Hope Avenue, Columbus, IN, 47201; Our Hospice of South Central Indiana, 2626 17th Street, Columbus, IN, 47201; or Love Chapel Center, 311 Center Street, Columbus, IN, 47201.
Online condolences and special memories may be shared with Dotty’s family at www.jewellrittman.com.
