38 | SUNRAYS MARCH 2014
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ine her great grandfather, in his suit
and hat, peering through a hole in the
wooden fence surrounding the construc-
tion site.
A DAUGHTER OF TEXAS
Dorothy credits her interest in the his-
tory of Texas and her Texas roots to her
mother, Jimmie Lee Whitley. In addition
to receiving her teaching credentials at
the age of 51, teaching 2nd grade until
she was 69, and “subbing” until she was
73, Jimmie Whitley was a skilled and
prolific artist. Her daughter, Dorothy,
started out in nursing, married, and left
school to raise four children before she
returned for her elementary teaching
degree at the age of 40, completing her
student teaching assignment in Ameri-
can History. The following year, a 7th
grade Texas History teaching position
opened and her career in, and passion
for, Texas history began.
When the Bluebonnet Chapter of the
Daughters of the Republic of Texas
(DRT) honored Dorothy as “Texas His-
tory Teacher of the Year” in the 1980s,
her mother accompanied Dorothy to the
award ceremony. Later, during dinner
with the DRT, Dorothy’s mother casu-
ally mentioned that her great grandfa-
ther “had a plantation in Leon County,”
and was asked when he came to Texas.
Since he lived in Texas between 1836
and 1846, during the time it was the
independent Republic of Texas, they were
eligible to join the DRT organization.
For the next 10-plus years, Dorothy and
her mother researched their Texas ge-
nealogy together. Some days they would
pack a lunch and head for the Clayton
Memorial Library in Houston, arriv-
ing when it opened in the morning and
staying until closing time. Other days
were spent driving through the area of
Texas bounded by Gonzales, Waco, Dal-
las and Houston searching for family
gravesites. Even after a stroke slowed
cognitive abilities, Dorothy’s mother re-
mained interested in her family’s history
and her painting until near her death.
Several of her paintings grace the walls
of Dorothy’s home, treasured reminders
of the research and travel they shared.
FAMILY PRIDE
Dorothy and her husband, Jack—a for-
mer teacher, principal, and school su-
perintendent—moved to Sun City Texas
from Friendswood, Texas, in 2006. They
have four children, eight grandchildren
and two great grandchildren. One of Dor-
othy’s sisters, Betty, and her husband,
Pete Finley, also moved to Sun City
Texas in 2006. Betty and Dorothy are
both members of the John Berry Chapter
of the DRT. Many Sun City Texas resi-
dents enjoyed Dorothy’s recent George-
town Senior University lecture series,
Heroes and Villains of Texas History,
but, Dorothy said, “My family members
were not heroes or villains. They were
just part of the common people who made
it all work.”
One of Dorothy’s Texas History
students gave this embroidery
of Texas to her as a gift.
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