A Life of Service and Soil
By Rachael Stephany
Dorothy Louise Williams-Young
Dorothy Louise Williams-Young
January 7, 1923 - August 22, 2016
Dorothy “Dottie” Louise Williams-Young was born on January 7, 1923, in the Steel City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the oldest daughter of Howard and Edna Kunkle.[1] Dottie graduated from Bellview High School in 1941, followed by the completion of her associate’s degree from the Grace Martin School of Business.[2]
On December 7, 1941, the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II, pivoting away from its isolationist policies under President Roosevelt. Dottie's sense of duty to her nation led her to enlist in the Navy as a Pharmacist's Mate.[3] She was stationed in Annapolis, Maryland, at the United States Naval Academy.[4] The goal of the US Naval Academy during the war was to produce suitable officers for the two-sided war in Europe and the Pacific.[5] The Naval Academy created strong officers for both the Navy and the Marine Corps during World War II.[6] As a Pharmacist’s Mate, Dottie assisted doctors and dentists in giving care to either sailors or Marines during their time at the academy.[7] Pharmacist’s Mates were also trained to assist in major surgeries, from X-rays to fever reduction.[8] Dottie met her husband while at the Naval Academy, Gerald “Jerry” Carleton Williams[9]. They were married on May 12, 1945, exactly four days following victory in Europe.[10] Dottie was honorably discharged in 1945.[11]
Following the war, Dottie and Jerry moved back to Jerry’s hometown of Denver, Colorado.[12] Dottie worked as a hostess and bookkeeper at the restaurant, the Copper Kitchen, in Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.[13] In 1955, Dottie and Jerry were able to purchase their homestead in Lakewood, CO, where they raised three children, Gerald, Jefferey, and Linda.[14] As homesteaders, they were able to be self-sufficient on the land, provided with food cultivated on their land. Jerry passed in 1985, leaving Dottie with a homestead to nurture on her own.[15] Through Dottie’s resilience, she maintained her homestead, filling it with love and laughter for her children. Dottie reconnected with her long-time family friend, Dick Young, and rekindled their friendship.[16] Dottie and Dick were brought together in marriage in 1990.[17]
Dottie would live sixty years at her homestead, nurturing it for family and friends to enjoy. Dottie passed away at the age of 94 on August 22, 2016.[18]
Footnotes ↓
[1] Ancestry, “Zuver Family Tree for Dorothy Lousie Kunkle Williams,” ancestry.com, accessed July 18, 2025, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/156310460/person/262062120588/facts?_phsrc=MJn186&_phstart=successSource
[2] “Dorothy Louise Williams-Young,” Afterall, accessed July 18, 2025, ttps://www.afterall.com/obituaries/d-1761303/lakewood-colorado/dorothy-louise-williams-young/august-2016
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] “Winds of War, Winds of Change: The U.S. Naval Academy During the World War II Era,” Naval History and Heritage Command, accessed July 18, 2025, https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/naval-academy/usna-wwii.html.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “Navy Hospital Corpsman,” Navy Cyber Space, accessed July 18, 2025, https://www.navycs.com/navy-jobs/hospital-corpsman.html.
[8] “Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class,” U.S.S. Aldebaran, accessed August 25, 2025, https://home.epix.net/~nooyawka/Phm2.htm.
[9] “Dorothy Louise Williams-Young,” Afterall.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
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