Dorothy Candlin Warrington

WarringtonDorothy Candlin Warrington, 101, on March 6, 2019, peacefully, at the LBJ Medical Center in Johnson City, Tex. Dottie was born on April 13, 1917, in Presidio, Tex., the first daughter of teacher Myrtle Dean and Dr. George Candlin. She met Olcutt Sanders, a Quaker who influenced her decision to apply to overseas relief service with American Friends Service Committee, and she came to Pendle Hill study center in Wallingford, Pa., accompanied by her youngest sister, Omce, who saw her boat off in New York City on its way to Shanghai, China. Donald Warrington, who was driving Red Cross trucks, came into her office, and she caught his eye. They married in China under the auspices of Abington (Pa.) Meeting, where Don was a member, and had their first child there, a son.

They left China and moved to North Carolina to work at Black Mountain College, where their second child was born, and where they met many lifelong Quaker friends, including the McCandlesses, Trayers, and Turners. After about two years, they moved to Reading, Pa., to work with the YMCA, and their third and last child was born.

In 1962, Don applied for overseas YMCA work, and the family went to Costa Rica to learn Spanish and then to Colombia to lay the groundwork for a YMCA there. In 1968, they moved to Newington, Conn., for his work at the Hartford YMCA, and they joined Hartford (Conn.) Meeting. Then they moved to the Philadelphia area, living in Willow Grove, Pa., and transferred their memberships to Southampton (Pa.) Meeting. Don took early retirement and built their own home on a piece of land at Dot’s family compound in Blanco, Tex., and they started Hill Country Meeting in Kerrville, Tex.

She loved traveling with Don, and they took several cruises. Dot never claimed to be a good cook, but her children grew up on her Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, Indian, Colombian, and Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. She made a delicious shoo-fly pie! She was a good writer and loved to keep in touch with her many friends through her annual Christmas letter; she baked fruitcakes for family and neighbors. Her granddaughter says, “She has left a beautiful trail of life behind that guides me.” Her love of music was passed on to her family, who remember her with “Simple Gifts,” “Down in the Valley,” and “Forever Young.”

Her memorial service celebrated her life in the fashion of a Quaker meeting at the library where she had volunteered for over 30 years, with chairs facing each other in two rows and a period of silence before the shared stories and remembrances. Her family and friends will remember her sweet laughter, her love of chocolate and birds, and her practical tell-it-how-it-is style.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Warrington; two sisters, Jerry Copeland and Omce Depew; and a grandson, Robert G. Hess III, called Santi. A sister-in-law, Polly Sutch, survived her but has since died. She is survived by three children, Tom Warrington (Donna), Pat Rocha (José), and Nancy Warrington; a grandchild, Sarabella Rocha; eleven nieces and nephews; and many friends.

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