WINSTON-SALEM - Dorothy (Dottie) Louise Jacobson Austin, was born on July 13, 1927 in Arlington, VA. She was the only child of Katherine V. Jacobson and Ole Jacobson and she always said she "was their eyeballs." Along with their love, Ole and Katherine gave Dottie a lifelong passion for reading, learning, gardening and animals. She graduated from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel University) (where her friends knew her as Sonny) with a degree in English Literature and Library Science. She worked during World War ll for the U.S. Army Map Service and after college worked at the U.S. Library of Congress. After marrying Rodney Austin and moving to Winston-Salem, she dedicated her life to her family and acquiring her own collection of books on subjects ranging from field guides to all forms of flora and fauna, to history, anthropology, literature, drama, and philosophy. Dottie was a tireless volunteer and community activist. She helped start and worked for years as a volunteer at the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Bookstore and Gift Shop. Dottie was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church since moving to Winston Salem in 1951. Her passion for plants and flowers will be what many remember most about her. She collected wildflower and fern specimens from all over the Southeast. She was a member of the Old Salem Garden Club for over 50 years and actively involved in the Garden Council of NC. She was a Life Judge of Wildflowers. Dottie was married to Rodney Austin for 67 years. They had four children, Nancy Macfarlane (Hunter) of Advance, NC (grandchildren Hunter, Austin, and Susanna (Danny); Richard Austin of Charlottesville, VA (grandchildren Katherine, Charlotte, and Nathaniel) Susan Stancill (Rema) of Abingdon, VA (grandchildren Mark and Samantha); and Beth Goldsmith (Gregg) of Mechanicsville, VA (grandchildren Gail and Brad). She has one great-granddaughter, Kinley Macfarlane. Dottie was a collector of things. She had a bit of gravitational force to her. Surrounded by her garden in her yard, she was surrounded by her ever-growing library inside the house. Her garden had rhyme and reason. She was a stickler for order amidst her plants. The books just piled up--her kitchen table became a command post with spaces cleared amidst piles of papers and books. She loved plants and animals, but when it came down to it, she'd kill a chipmunk any day before letting it eat her garden plants. She couldn't tolerate a weed, but she seldom met a book she didn't like. For every activity she undertook, and there were many, she was well read. For all she didn't undertake, she was well read on that too. If you were a close friend or relation, chances are she knew more about your family tree than you did. Though she worked as a librarian and had a great deal of respect for the institutions, library books had a funny way of becoming "hers." So did dogsand many of her children's friends. Small things were particularly susceptible to her gravitational influence and small connections held meaning in her sphere--stamps, seashells, newspaper clippings, her own little phrases. She had a way with language; meaning she took her own liberties with it. She said of her school days that she was "an English major by the grace of McKoskie," a beloved Professor; and who knew there was a number called "umpteen"? If we have forgotten her many spontaneous quips and witty sayings, the look in her eyes and the literate arch of her brows was full of her meaning and with her to the last. When she sold the family home on Plymouth Avenue and moved to Salemtowne, the buyers bulldozed the house to the ground and built a larger one on the spot. But they kept her garden. We will keep her wit and her wisdom and the warmth of her spirit. Her color was purple. She was Dottie by the grace of herself. Dottie moved to Salemtowne in 2008 and came to love her many friends there as family. The family wish to thank Kate B. Reynolds Hospice House for their compassionate and loving care during her transition. Their support and care for our Mother and our family was unwavering. The family would also like to thank Deborah Little for all the love and devotion she showed our mother over the past several years. Her loving hands were a blessing and a gift to us all. A celebration of Dottie's life will take place Sunday, February 18th at 2:00 in The Salemtowne Saal in Winston Salem. In lieu of flowers the family would ask that a memorial contribution be made to Garden Club of North Carolina, Inc. Scholarship Fund P.O. Box 33520, Raleigh, NC 27636-3520 or to READWS, 520 Summit Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

Winston-Salem Journal, February 15, 2018