Dorothea (Dot) Rosemary Duncan Zabik, 85, of Jefferson, died Jan. 10 at the VA Hospital in Togus after a short illness.
Dorothea was born Dec. 7, 1922, in Bridgeport, Conn., the oldest of 10 children of Julia and DeLeon Duncan. After graduating from Bassick High School she worked at Stanley Tool Works as a clerk.
She was very proud of having served in the Coast Guard SPARS during WWII where she earned the rank of Store Keeper 2nd Class. After the war she worked at Sikorsky’s Helicopter Plant. It was at this time she went to flight school on the GI Bill, earning her pilot’s license after a male pilot told her that women could not fly.
She married Frank Zabik in 1952. They had three children and lived in Fairfield, Conn. until 1961 when they moved to North Whitefield. In 1990, Dorothea moved to Rockland and lived with her daughter, Janice, and her family.
In the summer of 2000, she moved to the cottage on Clary Lake in Jefferson where she lived until her death. She loved being at the lake where she could watch nature with her binoculars. While living there she met Robert Pierson, a dear and special friend with whom she had many wonderful times. She especially loved their boat rides on the lake, both fast and slow.
Family was very important to her and she loved being with them. Family cookouts and attending sporting events of her granddaughters and nieces were some of her favorite things to do. Dorothea enjoyed learning and was a master at jumbles and jigsaw puzzles. She was a sports fan and would cheer on Duke, her favorite college basketball team. She also loved to do weekly picks for the NFL games with her son, Daniel. Music was one of her passions, particularly big band and classical music. She was an expert on the bands and singers of the big band era.
She was predeceased by her parents; sisters, Corrine Duncan, Arlene (Annabelle) Banks, Lorraine (Tilly) Duncan, and Jean Markatine; and brother, Ronald Duncan.
Dorothea is survived by her friend, Robert Pierson; daughter, Janice Toomey and husband Jim of Lyman; sons, Jeffery Zabik and wife Diane of Topsham and Daniel Zabik of Norridgewock; grandchildren, Erin Toomey of Morristown, N.J., Caitlin Toomey of Boston, Mass., Duncan Zabik of Pennsylvania Furnace, Penn., and Nathaniel and Jameson Bacon of Naples; brothers, Frederick (Butch) Duncan and wife Nancy of Jefferson, Hepburn Duncan of Philadelphia. Penn., and Daniel Duncan of Whitefield; sister, Beverly Wilkie of Cedars, Penn., sister-in-law, Helene Duncan; her former husband, Frank Zabik of Deland, Fla.; and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, including one grandnephew, Andrew Shaw, who was a great joy in her life.
Visiting hours 6-8 p.m., Mon., Jan. 14 and the service 2 p.m., Tues., Jan. 15; both are at Plummer Funeral Home, Windsor Chapel, 983 Ridge Rd., Rt. 32, Windsor.
Burial will be at a later date with Military Honors at Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Mt. Vernon Road, Augusta.
Arrangements are under the under the care of Plummer Funeral Home, Windsor.
