Dorothy Gail James passed away on Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Wichita. She was 77.
Dorothy was born on Sept. 3, 1944, in New York City to Masel (Dewis) Maines and William Paul Franke. She spent her childhood in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan.
In her teens, she worked as a waitress at the iconic Bickford’s diner near Times Square, where she remembered serving a young Dick Van Dyke, then performing on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie. Bickford’s is also where in 1960 Dorothy met Lyle Stice, a US Navy sailor from Ordway, Colo. Dorothy and Lyle married in January 1961.
Dorothy spent her early married life with her in-laws in Colorado while Lyle was at sea. Her mother-in-law, Lillian Vickers, taught Dorothy how to tend roses, a passion that continued throughout her life.
Navy life took the young couple from coast-to-coast, including to Charleston, S.C., where their son Douglas was born in 1964. Eventually the family settled in Arvada, Colo. Dorothy and Lyle divorced in 1977.
Dorothy married again in 1982 and moved with her new husband, Larry James, to Poteau, Okla. In Poteau, Dorothy worked at a local grocery store and, later, in the Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center (EOMC) cafeteria until she retired.
After retiring, Dorothy was an active member of the EOMC Auxiliary and spent many hours volunteering at the hospital gift shop. She also assisted in the children’s ministry at First United Methodist Church in Poteau. Always a creative spirit, Dorothy liked to knit and crochet items that she donated for fundraising events.
In her 50s, Dorothy discovered video games. She especially enjoyed playing online with her son and grandchildren who lived far away. She could spend hours discussing game strategies with them. A highlight of her gaming career was a 2006 road trip with her son and two of her grandchildren to GenCon, a gaming convention. She delighted in surprising younger players with her gaming knowledge.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, Larry James, and her parents. She is survived by a son, Douglas (Tammy), Wichita; three grandchildren, Deidre (Bryan) Caswell, Wichita; Alicia (Guin) Stice, Tulsa, Okla.; and Bryon (Sarah) Stice, Del City, Okla.; and five great-grandchildren.