Dorothy Westlake

Dorothy Jean Westlake (Newton), passed away on Friday, November 25, 2022. While her friends and family will miss her greatly, we are also profoundly grateful for her final days. She passed in peace and at home the day following a wonderful Thanksgiving feast where she was the joy-filled “Star Of The Show” amongst her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Dorothy was born in Hillsboro, Texas on Tuesday, March 9, 1931, to Elihu Vestal Newton and Mattie Viola Abel-Newton. The family moved to Dallas when she was three years old, where she remained until 1951. In Dallas she attended W.E. Greiner Junior High and later graduated from Sunset High. While at Greiner, she met a young man named Dick Westlake, though they didn’t start dating until they were seniors in high school.

On January 6, 1951 she married Dick at Edgefield Church of Christ in Dallas.  The newly married couple immediately moved to Lubbock, where Dick was attending Texas Tech. Dorothy worked and took classes until 1952 when Dick graduated and they moved to Austin for his law school.

They enjoyed their time in Austin, then their lives changed dramatically in late 1955 – early 1956. Upon graduation, Dick was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California. Dorothy stayed with family in Dallas until delivering her first child (Richard Lee) and within weeks they joined Dick in California for the next two years.

After the army, and a brief stint back in Dallas, where their second son Ronald David was born, they moved to Midland in May of 1958 where she had her daughter Brenda Donise. During their 36 years In Midland, they raised their family and made many wonderful life-long friends. They especially enjoyed living close to Dorothy and Bill Cotner, who they had known from high school in Dallas.

In 1993 they moved to Salado, Texas where they spent the next twenty wonderful years. They filled those years with volunteer work on many worthy causes, such as Meals on Wheels, the Chamber of Commerce Auxiliary and the Salado Public Library.

To be closer to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, in 2013 they moved to the Northwest Houston area.  In April of 2018 she lost her beloved husband of 67 years but has since had the joy of living in her daughter’s wonderful guest house. Her last few years were filled with the almost continuous joy of seeing her children, her children’s children, and their children. Her last years could hardly have been better, for which we are all most grateful.

Dorothy was the youngest of five siblings, all of whom are now deceased.

She had three children: Richard Lee and wife Julie, Ronald David and wife Judy, and Brenda Donise Walker and husband Wes.  She was also blessed with ten grandchildren: Laura Westlake, David Westlake, Sarah Westlake, Lindsay Walker-Cortez and husband Sean, Brittany Walker-Pratt and husband Kevin, Christian Walker, Elizabeth Westlake, Katherine Westlake, Meriel Westlake and Ridge Westlake.  She currently has seven great-grandchildren: Walker Cortez, Archer Pratt, Cason Cortez, Max Richard Pratt, Oliver Pratt, Paisley Cortez and Holly Pratt.

A private graveside service will be held in Salado on December 3rd.

Memorial donations are welcome at the American Heart Association (donatenow.heart.org), or the charity of your choice.

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