Dorothy Marie Fearer

November 20, 1921 - February 14, 2022

Dorothy Marie Fearer affectionately known as “Do” by husband Jock and “Dodo” by grandchildren and many of her friends passed from this world into the next on Valentine’s Day 2022. It seemed an appropriate day, having loved well and having enjoyed the love and admiration of so many. Dorothy was 100 years old, celebrating her birthday by FaceTime with her twin brother Don on November 20, 2021. The twins (and their older brother Ken) were born into a Los Angeles few of us would now recognize, population 600,000 to John Raymond and Iva Mae Evans. Dorothy attended Fairfax High School class of 1939 but didn’t want to go to UCLA because it was “too far out in the country.” Instead she attended LaVerne College in California and Manchester College in Indiana where she met her future husband James H. “Jock” Fearer whom she married in 1942. Jock and Dorothy lived in a variety of locations from Detroit to Cleveland to Salt Lake City to Billings to Palos Verdes to Dallas to Minneapolis to Tustin through Jock’s work-related transfers at the corporate level in the automotive industry. Dorothy did the lion’s share of the work raising sons Todd (1955) and Tim (1956) while Jock earned a living for the family. Dorothy belonged outdoors, enjoying mountain life in the Sierra Nevada the entirety of every summer of her childhood and youth. In earlier years she was an avid swimmer and tennis player, leaving those later to become an accomplished golfer. She loved games, laughter, being with others, California and travel. She moved as a widow to Santa Barbara in 1993 and ultimately to the Samarkand retirement community.

Throughout her life, Dorothy nurtured a deep and abiding love of God with steady involvement in a variety of churches wherever she lived, most recently El Montecito Presbyterian Church. Dorothy would tell you she did not come into a living faith and relationship with Christ until attending Bible Study Fellowship in her mid 50’s. She prayed fervently for many of us. Her love of people mirrored the love she herself experienced from God the Father through Jesus. Her remarkable faith shaped her remarkable life. It deserves mention that despite her authentic faith, she had a wicked sense of humor.

Dorothy was one of the original California girls. She was one-of-a-kind and is deeply missed by friends and family alike.

Dorothy was predeceased by her husband, Jock. She is survived by her two sons, Todd and Tim; daughter-in-law, Bonnie; brother, Don; nieces Ann and Mary; and her three grandsons Samuel, Nathaniel and Gabriel.