Obituary of Dorothy Lindsay

Dorothy (Breck) Lindsay, age 92, died August 1st at Atria Longmeadow Place in Burlington where she had lived for 12 years. She and her husband, Donald Lindsay, were former longtime residents of Lexington where they lived from 1949–1987, before retiring to Dorothy’s family home in Haddam, CT. Dorothy grew up in Middleboro, MA, where she met Don in high school. After completing a year at Radcliffe College to which she had won a full scholarship, she left during WW2 to lead the blueprint department at Pratt-Read (a piano company in Deep River that converted to building gliders during the war) and also at Pratt and Whitney as an engine lathe operator. Don taught her the basic skills, and she outshone many of the men working alongside her with her precision and speed. Dorothy was always an adventurous spirit, who found inspiration in nature and literature. Although she was a private person, she loved to learn, and participated in many classes and activities such as pottery, painting, modern dance, yoga and tai chi. She would venture up a mountain, sail a boat, and choose the road not taken. She relished taking literature classes at Brandeis and Radcliffe, and wrote poetry of her own. She was devoted to her garden and house plants, which exuberantly occupied many rooms of the Lindsay home. She also devoted herself to caring for Don as he developed dementia and they found it necessary to move to assisted living at Longmeadow Place. After his death in 2008, Dorothy remained at Longmeadow, where she learned that she could enjoy being part of a community and where she became a beloved presence. She was a natural virtuoso whistler, and the sound of her bird trills and spontaneous melodies enlivened the hallways. Although she, too, developed dementia, she never lost her lovely smile, or her buoyant sense of humor. Dorothy leaves her two children, Mark and his wife Marty of Gloucester, and Shaylor and her companion Greg Lenhart of Lexington, as well as three grandchildren, Tam and his wife Jenell of Beaverton, OR, Ian of Gloucester, and Ethan Magno of Cambridge. Memorial services will be held at the Follen Church, 755 Mass. Ave. in Lexington on Saturday, August 29th at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Dorothy’s name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts Chapter, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472. For directions, obituary and online guestbook see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net & www.follen.org