Dorothy Lou Spencer

WESTBROOK – Dorothy Lou Spencer was born Sept. 25, 1929 in Auburn Heights, Mich. to Carl and Leona (Horn) Arft, and was the youngest of three children. She adored her two older brothers, Leo and Stewart. She had a long and fulfilling life before dying peacefully on Feb. 8, 2026.

She grew up during the Depression years in the Detroit, Mich. area, but often said how lucky her family was because her father always had a job and they had enough to eat. It helped that her grandparents and uncles lived on farms in the country and would bring eggs and produce to them. Dorothy remembered helping to sell eggs and apples; and getting into trouble, when visiting her family, for climbing the apple trees with her cousins and eating the apples – strictly forbidden!

Dorothy wanted to become a nurse and did so against the objections of her parents, who thought nurses were “too wild” and young women should stick with proper occupations like being a secretary. However, with the help of her brother, Stew, who drove her to her interview, she was accepted into and graduated from the Sparrow Hospital School of Nursing in Lansing, Mich., which was affiliated with Michigan State University.

During one of her nursing rotations in Traverse City, Mich., Dorothy met Herbert Spencer when he was also there for one of his medical school rotations. One great story from that time was when he asked her to a dance, but she was refused permission to leave the nurses’ dorm that evening (the student nurses’ actions were strictly monitored during those restrictive times). She was determined to go, and climbed out her 2nd-story dorm window onto a tree and made it to the dance, only to find the dorm supervisor, another young woman 3 or 4 years older than she, also at the dance! Since the supervisor shouldn’t have been there either, they ignored each other and nothing ever came of the incident.

Herb and Dorothy married in 1950, the children started coming in 1952, and Dorothy put aside her career to become homemaker and super mom. She volunteered with women’s hospital auxiliaries, the Red Cross, and as band camp nurse at various times. When her children were a little older, she worked part-time with Planned Parenthood. She supported her husband and children throughout moves for Herb’s career, relocating from Michigan to Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and then in retirement to Florida and Maine.

Dorothy and Herb were blessed with almost 69 years of marriage. They were superb party-givers, music lovers, avid sports fans, a dynamic dancing duo, and dedicated gardeners. They enjoyed many trips and cruises together, including twice on the QE2; and also took family road trips, one memorable one being a trip from Michigan to California with five children, all packed into a Chevy station wagon. They easily made friends and were active in their communities and churches wherever they lived. Belgrade Lakes, Maine, became their summer home for many years. They particularly loved Union Church in that town, and were charter members when the church became year-round after years of summer only.

Dorothy’s life was rich with love, laughter, family and friends, and the inevitable harder times were overshadowed by the good. She was a giver of unconditional love, a cheerful soul who would break into song spontaneously, even at the very end of her life, and a strong woman of faith. Her gracious and loving acceptance of people as they were was an important part of her personality. Her children feel so lucky to have had her as their mother. They were blessed by her steady presence in their lives.

Dorothy was predeceased by her husband, Herb, in 2019 and grieved his passing until the day she died. She leaves behind family who will miss her very much – her children, Pamela Doughty and husband Geoffrey, Patricia Spencer, Carol Spencer Lemay and husband Richard, Mary Given and husband Douglas, and Thomas Spencer; her grandchildren, Alex, Winston, Marie, Eric, Mary Beth, Dan and Laura; her grandsons-in-law; her four great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews, especially one who lived nearby in recent years and became an important part of her life, Susan McCulley.

A memorial service is being planned for the summer.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Plummer Funeral Home, 16 Pleasant St., Augusta, ME 04330. Condolences, stories or photos may be shared by visiting http://www.plummerfh.com.

If you wish to honor Dorothy’s memory, please consider a donation to the cause of your choice or to one of the organizations she always held in high regard: the American Red Cross, Planned Parenthood, or Union Church of

Belgrade Lakes, Maine.

Dorothy Lou Spencer