Dorothy Crystal Looney

Dorothy Crystal Mills was born on a Wednesday in Centralia, Washington, to Charles and Margaret Mills. Older sister Mildred (Milly) was born in 1919. Charles was a band leader, which probably explained Dorothy’s love of music. Dorothy’s mom, Margaret, died of pneumonia in 1927. A few years later, Charles married Lucille. Sadly, Charles died of a heart attack in 1933, leaving Lucille to raise Dorothy and Milly. Lucille soon remarried to Seldon Chappell. Seldon’s job took them to Hawaii, where Dorothy attended school, and sang in the choir. The family moved back to Tacoma in 1941, citing concerns about the war. Dorothy attended Lincoln High School in Tacoma, graduating in June 1943. It is believed she never took a single lesson on the piano, but was gifted with an ear for music, which gave her the ability to simply sit down and start playing; all without knowing how to read sheet music. In the summer of 1943, Dorothy moved in with her sister Milly, who was married by that time to Orville Ose. Dorothy did her part for the war effort, going to work for Webster-Brinkley in Seattle. The company made landing equipment for the “Liberty” class of ships. She typed up work orders for the shipments that left the factory. Jack was the truck driver who came in the office to pick up the work orders and delivery slips. One day, Jack asked Dorothy to a movie and she said yes. That’s how it started! Jack and Dorothy dated for about a year and were married on June 24, 1944. Dorothy said they liked outdoor activities, including walking around Seattle parks and camping. Jack took her fishing, which she dearly loved, and they hunted for agates together, which became a life-long passion. They bought a little house on 3rd Ave in North Seattle, near 143rd, right down the street from the Seattle Golf Club. Jack and Dorothy’s house was small, just a 2-bedroom, but it was where they started their family. In 1946, the couple gave birth to their first child, John (named after Jack). Two years later, Victoria was born (named after Jack’s mom). Jack and Dorothy worked hard on their home, including their beautiful yard, which was envied by all their neighbors. In 1953, they found an amazing piece of property at the north end of Edmonds. Their nearly two acres had lots of mature evergreens and a glorious view of the Puget Sound. It was the perfect place to settle into suburban life. Dorothy loved canning, knitting, gardening, traveling, and hunting for agates with Jack and their kids. The family loved camping, but also spending time with neighbors. Besides raising kids, the couple raised Springer Spaniel dogs. After John and Vicky grew up and left the home, Jack and Dorothy retired and bought a trailer. They traveled to Arizona where they dug for opals, found some petrified wood and picked up even more agates! They watched their family grow, as their son John had 2 kids, and their daughter Vicky had 4. Soon, those 6 grandkids were having kids, which amounted to 10 great-grand kids; and eventually even they added to the family, producing 3 great-great-grand kids before Dorothy passed. As Dorothy once quipped, “Wouldn’t you say they had it all?”