Robertson, Dorathea Jean (Bellmer)
Dorathea Jean (Bellmer) Robertson, 90, of East Granby, died peacefully on Monday, October 25, 2021, in her “Mansion,” also known as Governor's House in Simsbury. She was born in Brooklyn, NY, on August 1, 1931, one of three children to Arthur F. and Theodora (Schmidt) Bellmer. Dorathea was preceded in death by her husband, her beloved David, in 2009. He was a Merchant Marine Sailor from Scotland when they met at a dance held at the Astor Hotel in New York City. They could have danced all night. That one dance, led to many, which then led Dave and Dorathea to Edinburgh, Scotland, to get married November 17, 1954.
Upon returning to the States, Dave took a job as a marine engineer for Combustion Engineering. That started them on a grand adventure of traveling the entire United States for the first twelve years of Dave's job. During that time, Dave and Dorth (her nickname) had their first daughter. They had lived in many states by 1968. Dave's job brought them to East Granby, CT, where they built a house to raise their family, now two daughters and a dog.
Dorathea was an amazing woman-not your typical 50's housewife- she was a total sports Jock. GO CELTICS!! During graduation in 1949 from James Madison High School, Brooklyn, NY, she was awarded a silver sports medal for Track & Field. She was also an original 1940's member of a Woman's Basketball League- Brooklyn's King's Highway “Belles.” Dorathea was just 5'2”, but she could sink a 3-pointer from the far-right corner, easily, all day, every day.
An avid bowler, she was in several leagues in Windsor Locks and Bloomfield. A shout-out to the “Sunshine Girls.” She bowled for at least 40+ years.
Strangely, Dorathea's best loved “sport” was the card game “Solitaire”. Her Grandpa Bellmer taught her when she was a kid and she was never without a deck of cards.
During the 1970's, Dorathea was the impetus behind creating the East Granby Middle/High School Booster Club to raise money for college scholarships. She also found the time to be a member of the East Granby Women's Club.
Dave still traveled a lot after moving to East Granby, sometimes out on sea-trials for four to six weeks. That made Dorathea take on the role of “Mrs. Dad.” It seemed like the only time anything broke was when Dave was away on a business trip. She used to joke
that Dave could tell that the refrigerator, TV, or washer was going on the fritz, so he planned his trips accordingly. Dorth used to laugh about his “Perfect Timing.” He was even away when the house got hit by lightning and it blew up the TV.
Dorathea's favorite Mom Job was “chauffer.” Stacy was on the U.S. Gymnastics Team in Simsbury, CT. Dorathea loved driving the girls to practice in her Datsun 280-Z. She went to almost every gym meet to watch Stacy
win many of her competitions. Stacy was real good and Dorathea was real proud of her success-fullness.
In the early 1980's, Dorathea faced the most challenging event of her life, known as “The day Mom's head blew up.” She had an aneurysm burst in her brain, which is usually instantly fatal. But not for Dorth! No way! After seventeen hours of brain surgery, she woke up, unable to walk, talk, read or write, or remember
much of her life. Most people would give up, but for Dorathea, it was “Game On!” It was a long haul back, but much to everyone's surprise- she prevailed, learning to drive a car again, then eventually, bowling again. Yup, Dorathea was an amazing woman.
Dorathea is survived by her loving daughters, Kimberly J. Christensen and her husband, Stanley, of Barkhamsted and Stacy L. Robertson-Sitinas of Bridgeport; her three grandchildren David H. Boehm and his wife Marissa of East Granby, Jordan N. Sitinas of New York, NY, and Emmanuel N. Sitinas of Japan; her great-grandson Andrew M. Boehm, as well as nieces and nephews in New Jersey and nieces in Scotland. Dorathea is also survived by her long-time friends Lee G., Betty F. and Lois M. from East Granby. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her brothers, Robert Bellmer
and William Bellmer.
A special Thank-You to the doctors, nurses, aides and staff on the second floor of the Governor's House. You all made Dorathea feel special. The “Governess of the Mansion.” You made sure that everything was “copacetic.” If you hear “one, two, buckle my shoe…” you'll know Dorathea has stopped by to say “Hi” and bring a smile to your faces.
Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, you were the bestever and we are happy that you are dancing among the stars with your beloved David, finally reunited.
“See ya later, Alligator…In a while, Crocodile”
Funeral services for Dorathea will be private. Carmon Windsor Funeral Home is in care of her arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 628, Hartford, CT 06103. To leave an online message of condolence for her family,
please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com