Dodie loved her family, her friends, and everyone she hadn’t met yet.

Our beloved Dorothy Henion has passed away in Portland after a serious fall at the age of 92. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1930 to Mary Reagan Miller and Robert Theophilus Miller. In 1952, she joined her older sister Margaret in San Francisco. This led to meeting her adoring husband Wakeman “Burr” Henion at UC Berkeley. They married in 1954 and enjoyed 66 years together.

She baked the best chocolate chip cookies which attracted all the neighborhood kids; but beyond the cookies, they came for the warm and friendly home she created in the Oakland hills.

In 1977, Dodie and Burr scooped up the whole family and moved from the crowded, parched Bay Area to idyllic San Juan Island. Within weeks, Dodie found her perfect job as the indispensable Friday Harbor Elementary School secretary, while Burr became a carpenter and caretaker of their 5 acres.

Both of their children had kindled new passions that lead to rewarding careers: Greg as a music teacher and Todd as a pilot.

After a few years, as if a full-time job were not enough, they opened *The Meadows*, a lovely bed and breakfast—one of the first on the island. People from far and wide enjoyed Dodie’s cheerful disposition, along with Burr’s eye-rolling (and charming) puns.

Dodie and Burr retired to Portland, Oregon in 2002, to be closer to their children who survive her: Todd, his wife Gwen Leland, and their son Milo; and Greg, his wife Whitney (née Sutton), and their daughters Madeline and Daphne. Burr preceded her in death in April of 2020 at 94, laughing and punning to the end.

People were drawn to Dodie’s positive and sunny outlook. She opened her home and arms to many who needed a warm, calm place to reset free of judgement. Dodie loved traveling, reading, everything British, doting on her grandchildren, meeting new people, and a good home-cooked meal—especially if she wasn’t the cook.

She once estimated that she had cooked more than 80 turkeys for her family and declared that that was more than enough. She knew where in Texas the grocery checker was from, she knew what her hairdresser’s daughter was studying in school, and what her plumber used to do before he was a plumber.

In short, Dodie loved people, and they all loved her back.

We all miss her terribly. By following her examples of optimism, kindness, and love, we keep a bit of Dodie in the world.