Dorothea (Yates) Carlson, 89, of Round Pond, passed away peacefully on Feb. 8 at Cove’s Edge in Damariscotta after a brief illness. She was born on Feb. 29, 1924, in Brockton, Mass. to Frank Brightman Yates, a garage proprietor, and Ilene Geneva (Cobb) Yates, an organist.
Dorry graduated from Brockton High School, was employed as a secretary and taught Sunday school at the First Parish Congregational Church. In 1953 she married Clayton Robbins Carlson, a carpenter, and gave birth in 1960 to her only son, Stephen Alan Carlson.
After a lifetime of summering at Breezy Point in Round Pond, Dorry and her family moved to Maine and became year-round residents in 1985. They were active members of the historical Union (Brown) Church, and Dorry was a member of the Christian Women’s Club, the Fortnightly Club and Helping Hands for many years.
Dorry descended from a long line of Yates ancestors from the Bristol area, including Elizabeth Upham Yates, a missionary who was a widely known suffragette speaker and who founded the Fortnightly Club.
Besides her numerous genealogical connections, Dorry also had a special fondness for Maine authors and local history. She cherished her collection of turn-of-the-century memorabilia and photographs depicting life in the days when her grandmother, Ida Yates, ran a boarding house on the North Point for granite quarry workers. Dorry openly shared her mother’s diary that described in detail the long arduous journey from Brockton to Round Pond by rail and her father’s free-spirited sailing adventures in the sound.
Many locals often remark that Dorry had an uncanny ability to recall names, dates and relationships. Blessed with the gift of gab, her story-telling was legendary. Well-liked by all and especially remembered for her quick wit and great sense of humor, Dorry had a sweet disposition and unfailingly sunny outlook on life against all odds.
As an avid reader, Dorry was never without a book. Newspapers and magazines were read cover to cover, and several crossword puzzles a day easily completed and dated. Countless guests were welcomed to her home on the shores of Round Pond Harbor and encouraged to write in her guest book, which overflows with sentimental gratitude for her hospitality and appreciation for the beauty and serenity of Breezy Point.
In 2006 Dorry moved to Round Pond Green, the assisted living home that is housed in a building known to have belonged to her ancestors at one time and where she lived happily for six years. The last two years of her life were spent with her friends at Cove’s Edge.
Dorry was predeceased by her son, Stephen, who tragically drowned in July, 1989, her husband, Clayton in 1992, and most recently her sister, Elizabeth “Betty” (Yates) Wood in 2011.
She is survived by her brother-in-law, Robert Wood of Peabody, Mass.; nieces and nephews, Carolyn (Wood) Zelenka and husband Bernard (“Dee”) of Groveland, Mass., William Wood and wife Pamela, Charles Wood and wife Christine, and Donald Wood and wife Andrea, all of Topsfield, Mass., Deborah (Wood) Macklin and husband Richard of Damascus, Md.; several great-nieces and nephews; step-children, Corinne “Midge” Connon and husband George of Middleboro, Mass., Wayne Carlson and wife Maria of Kingston, Mass., and Carrol Carbone and husband Dennis of Palm Bay, Fla.; and several step-grandchildren.
A memorial service to celebrate Dorry Carlson’s life is being planned to take place in Round Pond in June.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Round Pond Village Improvement Society, P.O. Box 148, Round Pond, ME 04564.
