DOROTHY LOU HENRY MCDONNELL GRIEVES
1927-2017
ton Grand Opera, Houston Ballet and the Society for the Performing Arts. Other memberships include the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Blue Bird Circle where she worked in the Clinic and at the Resale Shop. She contributed her artistic talents to the Blue Birds’ Easter egg painting program, as she was a talented painter, flower arranger, and decorator.
In 1999, Dorothy and Bill married and settled into a happy life in Houston, still traveling on yearly trips with family. Later, In 2015 Dorothy and Bill moved to the Hallmark where they found a friendly and compatible group of residents. Dorothy formed many new close friendships and will be greatly missed by the Hallmark community.
Funeral service will be held Monday, March 6, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston followed by interment in Tulsa, OK.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions to the Houston Symphony Endowment, 615 Louisiana, Houston TX 77002, or to the charity of your choice will be appreciated.
Dorothy Lou Henry McDonnell Grieves passed away peacefully February 9, 2017 following a cerebral hemorrhage. She was born January 9, 1927 in Tulsa, OK to Allen Henry and Esther Thyssen Henry. She was preceded in death by her parents, sisters Betty Reimau and Margaret Henderson, brother Robert Henry and her first husband John T. (Jack) McDonnell. She is survived by her husband William A. (Bill) Grieves of Houston, son Kevin R. McDonnell and his wife Erica, granddaughter Laine McDonnell, grandson Brian McDonnell and his wife Emily, all of Cincinnati, OH, daughter Lisa McDonnell of Boston, MA, nephews Dan Henderson of Sunnyvale, CA and Dr., Lee Henderson of Lafayette, IN and niece Joan Cooke of El Cajon, CA.
Dorothy attended the University of Oklahoma were she majored in art and was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. After her marriage in the late 1940s, she went with Jack on various Gulf Oil assignments in Houston, Pittsburgh, and New York City. In 1970 the family moved to Madrid, Spain where over a five-year period they were able to explore Europe and parts of North Africa. After a stay in Tulsa, they came back to Houston in 1976 and continued to enjoy travel until Jack’s death in 1994. During her travels she accumulated many treasures.
From childhood, Dorothy loved classical music and supported the arts. She loved to sing and was a member of choirs in Tulsa and in the Greenwich, CT area. In Houston, she was a long-time member of the Conductor’s Circle of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and served many years on its Board of Directors. She also attended many performances of Hous-