Dorothy Thurmond

December 21, 1928 - August 29, 2022

CARLSBAD — Dorothy Free Thurmond passed away peacefully on August 29, 2022 in Carlsbad, CA where she had moved 18 years ago to be near her daughter Betsy and her family. She was born Dorothy Jane Free on December 21, 1928 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to (Maynie) Ruth Johnson Free and Clifford Edwin Free. She had one beloved sister, Sarah Ruth Free Hilliard. She was known affectionately as Dot, Dottie, or “Dottie Free from Tennessee”.

Dorothy grew up with a song in her heart. She made her professional debut at the tender age of four, singing on a local radio station in Chattanooga. At age six and seven, while the Free family resided in Birmingham, AL for a few years, her big voice filled the famed Alabama Theater, when she sang as a member of the Mickey Mouse Club. She was fortunate to be accompanied by the great organist, Jesse Walker. At age eight, she won a local radio contest after moving back to Chattanooga. Her rendition of “Goldmine in the Sky” garnered her a radio contract to sing weekly on WDOD’S Radio Playhouse. Dot appeared with such luminaries as Eddie Arnold, George Gobel, Archie Campbell (Grandpappy) and other Grand Ole Opry personalities.

As she grew up, Dorothy sang locally for most every church, school and civic organization in Chattanooga, often accompanied by her sister on the piano. Dot attended Chattanooga City High and The University of Chattanooga, where she was a member of The Chi Omega Sorority.

Dot transferred to The Juilliard School of Music in New York to pursue an operatic career. She studied with Evans-evans, Miss Mary Ludington of the Met Studios, opera great Eleanor Steber and others. Although Dot appeared in several opera productions, she confessed that she enjoyed singing just as much with The Juilliard Swing Orchestra. In addition to her studies, she kept busy performing in Manhattan on Eddie Dowlings’“big Break”, Arthur Godfrey’s “Talent Scouts”, and modeling for The Harry Conover Agency.

Dorothy returned to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the 1948 Miss Tennessee Pageant as Miss Chattanooga. She won and was thrilled to represent her beloved state as Miss Tennessee in The 1948 Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, NJ. Dot won the Miss America Over-all Talent Award with her rendition of “Let My Song Fill Your Heart” and “Embraceable You”.

Dot fell in love and married James E. Thurmond, M.D. on December 30, 1948. They moved first to Bridgeport, CT where Jim did his internship and residency at Bridgeport Hospital, before settling in Fairfield, CT. There they raised four children, three daughters (Cheri, Sasha and Betsy) and one son (Jim). Dot lived in Fairfield, CT for more than 50 years.

Dot was a very positive woman with a resolute faith. She was a member of The First Baptist Church, Downtown Chattanooga, The First Methodist Church, Bridgeport,

CT, The First Church Congregational, Fairfield, CT and she attended The Greenfield Hill Congregational Church of Fairfield, CT. She shared her beautiful voice with those churches and many others wherever she lived.

Through the years, Dot made a name for herself in her community by serving on numerous

civic boards. She was active in The Junior League and served on the board of The Greater Bridgeport Symphony and The University of Bridgeport. She was Chairman of the judges of The Jenny Lind Contest in conjunction with the Bridgeport PT Barnum Festival. She served on The Miss America Advisory Board, and she continued to sing and lecture throughout the East. In 1960, she sang at The 50th Anniversary of The Boy Scouts, where Ronald Reagan was a guest speaker.

Dot and her daughter, Betsy, recorded an album, “A Beginning” at Pyramid’s Eye Recording Studio on Lookout Mountain, TN in 1981. The album featured an original song written by Dot, “Till You Come Back Again”. Dot and her daughter were asked to perform on The QE2 and at The White House during President Reagan’s Fourth of July Celebration.

In addition to loving music, Dot loved people and could find the good in everyone. She was a good listener and would ask people all about their lives. She was truly interested and remembered every detail. She especially loved remembering birthdays. She sang countless renditions of “Happy Birthday” to family members and friends. Dot loved all animals, especially her dogs and cats. Dot loved to watch all talent shows, awards ceremonies and sports events, but she loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren more than anything else.

Dot also loved to participate in sports. She loved skiing in Vermont with her family and friends. She was a member of Black Rock Yacht Club, Brooklawn Country Club and Fairfield County Hunt Club where she loved playing tennis and platform tennis. Even though Dot took up tennis in her late twenties, she became a very accomplished competitor on the court. She once played in the National Mother-daughter tournament in Forest Hills, NY with her daughter, Cheri. They didn’t win, but they became lifetime friends with Dodo Cheney and her daughter, Christie. Dot won many local tournaments, but the highest tennis rankings she achieved were in The USTA National Motherdaughter division, #10 with Cheri and #6 with Betsy.

Dot became a popular realtor in CT. She was a top agent first at William Raveis and then Fingelly Real Estate, now William Pitt Sotheby. She loved showing houses, holding open houses and finding the perfect home for people in her beloved Fairfield County. It gave her an opportunity to make lots of new friends. Dot always dressed up and was voted twice as the best-dressed woman in Fairfield County. She loved to curl her hair, accessorize her outfits, and she was known for her “trademark hats”. Jackie Kennedy Onassis once complimented her lovely hat at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

Dorothy Free Thurmond was warm, friendly, kind, caring, compassionate, loving, generous, optimistic, loyal and talented. Dot was unforgettable. She is survived by her four children, Cheri, Jim (Patti), Sasha and Betsy (Greg), her seven grandchildren, Michael, Blake (Kiara), Brittainy, Clayton, Jessica, Gregory and Colby, and 2 great-grandchildren, Max and Harper all of whom she loved with all her heart. Dot/mom/grandot will be missed by all who loved her, but we are better people for having known her. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you please greet those you meet with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. That is the way Dot welcomed everyone into her life. May her song continue to lift the spirits of those who loved her as she lives on in our hearts. As Dot would say, “Bye, Bye, Bye”. Please sign the Guest Book online obituaries.sandiegouniontribune.com