- Dorothy Ivanovna Poppin -
One day in 1926, when living on the Van Dyke temporary residence in the Rivervale School District in Pleasant Grove, CA about 12 miles west of Lincoln, my father bundled mom into our Model T Ford and drove her to Sheridan, CA. I guess I faintly noticed that my mother had gradually gained additional weight and was in child. Dad drove her to Bill Bogdanoff's house where sister Dorothy was born, delivered by a female midwife.
Mother returned to the Van Dyke farm with Dorothy bundled in her arms and not too much was said about mother's experience in giving birth to our baby sister. In due time all of us took turns in holding baby Dorothy and some of us helped with feeding her the bottle of milk . Dorothy grew and in no time was learning to walk. It was from the Van Dyke farm that we moved to the "old Fuller Ranch" six miles west of Lincoln, CA. Sister Dorothy became the star of the show. Brother John would take her on the farm tractor and she waddled around the ranch and ran from one set of arms to the other as each of us vied to take care of her. She was a doll and cute as a bug in the rug. She was a very happy child and the pride and joy of the family.
In 1930 after the loss of our Fuller ranch to Walter Jansen & Son, our grain merchant to whom we were mortgaged up to our neck , we moved to the Ben Fazio farm in Vanden (Fairfield), CA. By now Dorothy was about four years of age and romped around the farm as Mary, Hazel and I attended Center Grammar in Vanden. Mrs. Messner was our teacher in the one room grammar school by the Southern Pacific railroad in the train milk stop community of Vanden. This was a rough time economically for us who remained on the farm when the older children moved to San Francisco. There wasn't too much money floating around the house and we were always on dire food rations. We had the basic staples of food but it was not that plentiful.
In 1932 the entire family of Dad, Mom, Hazel, Dorothy and myself moved to the big city of San Francisco where the whole family was once again together. We lived in a flat at 980 De Haro Street at Southern Heights Avenue. I attended Daniel Webster Junior High School in 1932 . I recall I became a "traffic cop" for the school and ran to school crossings at street intersections to direct the flow of traffic when coming and going to school. Yes, I was in the harmonica band also and we performed at school rallies. I also began building my body by exercising with bar bell weights. Good old Daniel...such wonderful memories of Potrero Hill and its youth of the day. I played my first game of tackle football at Potrero Hill Playground when I played for Mike Samaduroff's "Wolves" football team. Memories are made of this.
I often sing the Daniel Webster School hymn.." We go forth with firm endeavor , With a purpose ever true and our motto is PERFECTION in whatever we may do......" That song and its words are with me this very day.
In 1934 dad moved mom, Hazel, Dorothy , myself, and baby Joan O'Neill (Sister Alice's child ) to Sheridan, CA in order to go into the "chicken business", that is ,we raised Rhode Island Red poultry for the meat market. WHAT A FLOP THAT WAS IN THAT VENTURE OF RAISING CHICKENS!!! There was a lot of wasted time and money on Dad's part. A debacle as far as I was concerned.
Back to the City of San Francisco we came in 1935. Sister Dorothy started Patrick Henry Grammar School on Potrero Hill. Eventually I matriculated at Santa Clara University and came home occasionally to visit the family on weekends. We got into World War 2 and I was off and running around the 48 states and Europe. I came home on leave from the service on one occasion and it was on Sister Dorothy's graduation day from the High School of Commerce. Dottie and I couldn't make the graduation for I was home on leave and had not seen Dottie for a long time. Sister Dorothy understood my situation. Thank goodness.
My dear baby sister Dorothy grew up to be a tall ( five feet ten inches and weighed about 140 pounds) blonde and attractive young lady with a very beautiful smile. Full of energy and always expressing her fondness for members of the family.
I didn't see much of Sister Dorothy after Dottie and I got married. Dorothy married John Hollandsworth of the US Navy during World War 2. I did not attend the wedding nor did I ever meet Dorothy's husband. John and Dorothy settled down on a farm in Cottonwood, ID. They raised three children...Bill, Mary Jane, and Stephen. Mary Jane's untimely death in ID came as a severe shock to sister Dorothy and she never did get over that death .
Dorothy is living in San Francisco and has worked as a "practical nurse". She keeps in touch with her sons Bill and Steve and on occasion Dottie and I have had her over for lunch at our home on Seventeenth Avenue. She always brought See's candy and goodies with her and we spent a great deal of time reminiscing about our life down on the farm and its warm recollections .
So there it is lock ,stock and barrel - the story of a very proud and happy Poppin family. Once a Poppin always a Poppin. Amen.
May 2000
I called my Aunt Dorothy last month and had a nice chat with her. She lives alone in an apartment in downtown San Francisco. She has not been well and it was evident from her voice that she was having difficulty breathing. She smoked cigarettes for years and now has emphysema. (Nancy Posey)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
June 2002
When I was a young girl, my Aunt Dorothy Hollandsworth would come to San Francisco to visit her family. She usually brought her sons Steve, Bill, and her daughter Mary Jane. I believe Bill came only once. Steve and Mary Jane came each time. Their family lived on a farm in Cottonwood, Idaho. Since I was raised in a large city, it was difficult for me to fathom people living in a small community in another state.
Mary Jane was three years younger than I was, but we were close cousins. During the times we didn't see each other we wrote back and forth. Cousin Diana Thompson also wrote to Mary Jane and even had a chance to visit her in Cottonwood. I don't recall all of the things we did when she visited. I remember the fun we had just being girls.
I always liked my aunt. She was tall very friendly. She had blond curly hair and had a county look about her. Steven was dark-haired, slim, and tall. Mary Jane was dark-haired and had the prettiest dimples in her cheeks. She died in 1977 and it was one of the saddest days of my life.
Aunt Dorothy adored her daughter. When she died I think something died inside of her. The farm had not done well and she divorced her husband, John Hollandsworth and moved to San Francisco.
Christmas 2001 - I was in SF for the Christmas holiday and Mom, Dad and I went to visit Aunt Dorothy. She was living at the Laguna Honda Home. When we arrived she was receiving oxygen. She recognized my father right away. Aunt Dorothy had her hair short and it was dark gray. She wasn't wearing her teeth that day, but was chatty for the entire visit. She wanted to hear about the rest of the family and appeared happy to hear the news. She has a smoking problem and really cannot take care of herself. So she decided to take up residence at the home. She has a bed and dresser in a woman's ward and can pull the curtains for privacy. It is amazing to me that when we are young, all we want is stuff and more stuff. Yet as we get older, we want to get rid of it. Aunt Dorothy has a few clothes and personal items and money to allow her to live simply. She has all she needs. We said our goodbyes and it was sad to leave. But we'll be back. [Nancy Poppin Posey]
======================
----- Original Message -----
From: Nancy Posey
To: Myrna Thompson ; Hazel Payne ; John Poppin ; Myrna Jeanne Ferro ; Joan Fladger ; John Andrews ; George Andrews
Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 9:27 PM
Subject: My visit with Aunt Dorothy
Hi....got back home this afternoon. It was great being home for two weeks. Yesterday, Mom, Dad and I visited Aunt Dorothy at Laguna Honda Home. She's in the same ward G3. Her hair is longer and she is slightly heavier. She was real thin the last time. She says she has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). She was breathing in oxygen when we got there about 2:30pm. She was SO happy to see all of us. We gave her some See's candy (creams) and body lotion (she was out) and she showed us her brand new white heavy duty terry-cloth robe. It was a gift from the volunteers. I brought the pictures I made from Aunt Alice's album. She walked down memory lane for a spell and then when she looked at Aunt Alice's picture, her face grew dark. I gather they didn't get along. Who did? She and Dad spoke Russian for a bit. She asked about the rest of the family and I told her what I knew. I passed on your thoughts, George, and she asked "Where is he?" Billy moved to another part of Idaho for work. He called her on Christmas. That explains why his phone was disconnected. Steve was coming to visit today.
Aunt Dorothy is HAPPY and content. We had a nice one hour visit and it was time to go.
=========================
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2003 8:50 AM
Subject: Death
Hi
Just received a phone call from your cousin Steven Hollandsworth,(Aunt Dorothy's son) to tell us that she died last night around 10:30pm...(age 76). A Laguna Honda Hospital aide was checking the ward and found her.
Her request is for Steven to handle her cremation and have her remains scattered beyond the Golden Gate Bridge..
We have no plans to attend. Steven will call if there is anything we should know.
Mom
=========================
Death Certificate Transcription from original document:
Dorothy Hollandsworth, born 9/15/1926 in CA, age 76, divorced, died 1/24/2003 at 2045 hours at Laguna Honda Hospital, 375 Laguna Honda Blvd., San Francisco, CA
Residence: 174 Ellis Streed #511, San Francisco, 94102; years in county: 64 years
Informant: Steven Hollandsworth, son; 541 Elizabeth Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Father: John Fred Poppin, born in Russia
Mother: Hazel Semioff, born in Russia
Disposition date: 1/28/2003; cremation by Neptune Society of No. California; not embalmed; ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Marin County, CA
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Other: Arterisclerotic heart disease
One day in 1926, when living on the Van Dyke temporary residence in the Rivervale School District in Pleasant Grove, CA about 12 miles west of Lincoln, my father bundled mom into our Model T Ford and drove her to Sheridan, CA. I guess I faintly noticed that my mother had gradually gained additional weight and was in child. Dad drove her to Bill Bogdanoff's house where sister Dorothy was born, delivered by a female midwife.
Mother returned to the Van Dyke farm with Dorothy bundled in her arms and not too much was said about mother's experience in giving birth to our baby sister. In due time all of us took turns in holding baby Dorothy and some of us helped with feeding her the bottle of milk . Dorothy grew and in no time was learning to walk. It was from the Van Dyke farm that we moved to the "old Fuller Ranch" six miles west of Lincoln, CA. Sister Dorothy became the star of the show. Brother John would take her on the farm tractor and she waddled around the ranch and ran from one set of arms to the other as each of us vied to take care of her. She was a doll and cute as a bug in the rug. She was a very happy child and the pride and joy of the family.
In 1930 after the loss of our Fuller ranch to Walter Jansen & Son, our grain merchant to whom we were mortgaged up to our neck , we moved to the Ben Fazio farm in Vanden (Fairfield), CA. By now Dorothy was about four years of age and romped around the farm as Mary, Hazel and I attended Center Grammar in Vanden. Mrs. Messner was our teacher in the one room grammar school by the Southern Pacific railroad in the train milk stop community of Vanden. This was a rough time economically for us who remained on the farm when the older children moved to San Francisco. There wasn't too much money floating around the house and we were always on dire food rations. We had the basic staples of food but it was not that plentiful.
In 1932 the entire family of Dad, Mom, Hazel, Dorothy and myself moved to the big city of San Francisco where the whole family was once again together. We lived in a flat at 980 De Haro Street at Southern Heights Avenue. I attended Daniel Webster Junior High School in 1932 . I recall I became a "traffic cop" for the school and ran to school crossings at street intersections to direct the flow of traffic when coming and going to school. Yes, I was in the harmonica band also and we performed at school rallies. I also began building my body by exercising with bar bell weights. Good old Daniel...such wonderful memories of Potrero Hill and its youth of the day. I played my first game of tackle football at Potrero Hill Playground when I played for Mike Samaduroff's "Wolves" football team. Memories are made of this.
I often sing the Daniel Webster School hymn.." We go forth with firm endeavor , With a purpose ever true and our motto is PERFECTION in whatever we may do......" That song and its words are with me this very day.
In 1934 dad moved mom, Hazel, Dorothy , myself, and baby Joan O'Neill (Sister Alice's child ) to Sheridan, CA in order to go into the "chicken business", that is ,we raised Rhode Island Red poultry for the meat market. WHAT A FLOP THAT WAS IN THAT VENTURE OF RAISING CHICKENS!!! There was a lot of wasted time and money on Dad's part. A debacle as far as I was concerned.
Back to the City of San Francisco we came in 1935. Sister Dorothy started Patrick Henry Grammar School on Potrero Hill. Eventually I matriculated at Santa Clara University and came home occasionally to visit the family on weekends. We got into World War 2 and I was off and running around the 48 states and Europe. I came home on leave from the service on one occasion and it was on Sister Dorothy's graduation day from the High School of Commerce. Dottie and I couldn't make the graduation for I was home on leave and had not seen Dottie for a long time. Sister Dorothy understood my situation. Thank goodness.
My dear baby sister Dorothy grew up to be a tall ( five feet ten inches and weighed about 140 pounds) blonde and attractive young lady with a very beautiful smile. Full of energy and always expressing her fondness for members of the family.
I didn't see much of Sister Dorothy after Dottie and I got married. Dorothy married John Hollandsworth of the US Navy during World War 2. I did not attend the wedding nor did I ever meet Dorothy's husband. John and Dorothy settled down on a farm in Cottonwood, ID. They raised three children...Bill, Mary Jane, and Stephen. Mary Jane's untimely death in ID came as a severe shock to sister Dorothy and she never did get over that death .
Dorothy is living in San Francisco and has worked as a "practical nurse". She keeps in touch with her sons Bill and Steve and on occasion Dottie and I have had her over for lunch at our home on Seventeenth Avenue. She always brought See's candy and goodies with her and we spent a great deal of time reminiscing about our life down on the farm and its warm recollections .
So there it is lock ,stock and barrel - the story of a very proud and happy Poppin family. Once a Poppin always a Poppin. Amen.
May 2000
I called my Aunt Dorothy last month and had a nice chat with her. She lives alone in an apartment in downtown San Francisco. She has not been well and it was evident from her voice that she was having difficulty breathing. She smoked cigarettes for years and now has emphysema. (Nancy Posey)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
June 2002
When I was a young girl, my Aunt Dorothy Hollandsworth would come to San Francisco to visit her family. She usually brought her sons Steve, Bill, and her daughter Mary Jane. I believe Bill came only once. Steve and Mary Jane came each time. Their family lived on a farm in Cottonwood, Idaho. Since I was raised in a large city, it was difficult for me to fathom people living in a small community in another state.
Mary Jane was three years younger than I was, but we were close cousins. During the times we didn't see each other we wrote back and forth. Cousin Diana Thompson also wrote to Mary Jane and even had a chance to visit her in Cottonwood. I don't recall all of the things we did when she visited. I remember the fun we had just being girls.
I always liked my aunt. She was tall very friendly. She had blond curly hair and had a county look about her. Steven was dark-haired, slim, and tall. Mary Jane was dark-haired and had the prettiest dimples in her cheeks. She died in 1977 and it was one of the saddest days of my life.
Aunt Dorothy adored her daughter. When she died I think something died inside of her. The farm had not done well and she divorced her husband, John Hollandsworth and moved to San Francisco.
Christmas 2001 - I was in SF for the Christmas holiday and Mom, Dad and I went to visit Aunt Dorothy. She was living at the Laguna Honda Home. When we arrived she was receiving oxygen. She recognized my father right away. Aunt Dorothy had her hair short and it was dark gray. She wasn't wearing her teeth that day, but was chatty for the entire visit. She wanted to hear about the rest of the family and appeared happy to hear the news. She has a smoking problem and really cannot take care of herself. So she decided to take up residence at the home. She has a bed and dresser in a woman's ward and can pull the curtains for privacy. It is amazing to me that when we are young, all we want is stuff and more stuff. Yet as we get older, we want to get rid of it. Aunt Dorothy has a few clothes and personal items and money to allow her to live simply. She has all she needs. We said our goodbyes and it was sad to leave. But we'll be back. [Nancy Poppin Posey]
======================
----- Original Message -----
From: Nancy Posey
To: Myrna Thompson ; Hazel Payne ; John Poppin ; Myrna Jeanne Ferro ; Joan Fladger ; John Andrews ; George Andrews
Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 9:27 PM
Subject: My visit with Aunt Dorothy
Hi....got back home this afternoon. It was great being home for two weeks. Yesterday, Mom, Dad and I visited Aunt Dorothy at Laguna Honda Home. She's in the same ward G3. Her hair is longer and she is slightly heavier. She was real thin the last time. She says she has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). She was breathing in oxygen when we got there about 2:30pm. She was SO happy to see all of us. We gave her some See's candy (creams) and body lotion (she was out) and she showed us her brand new white heavy duty terry-cloth robe. It was a gift from the volunteers. I brought the pictures I made from Aunt Alice's album. She walked down memory lane for a spell and then when she looked at Aunt Alice's picture, her face grew dark. I gather they didn't get along. Who did? She and Dad spoke Russian for a bit. She asked about the rest of the family and I told her what I knew. I passed on your thoughts, George, and she asked "Where is he?" Billy moved to another part of Idaho for work. He called her on Christmas. That explains why his phone was disconnected. Steve was coming to visit today.
Aunt Dorothy is HAPPY and content. We had a nice one hour visit and it was time to go.
=========================
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2003 8:50 AM
Subject: Death
Hi
Just received a phone call from your cousin Steven Hollandsworth,(Aunt Dorothy's son) to tell us that she died last night around 10:30pm...(age 76). A Laguna Honda Hospital aide was checking the ward and found her.
Her request is for Steven to handle her cremation and have her remains scattered beyond the Golden Gate Bridge..
We have no plans to attend. Steven will call if there is anything we should know.
Mom
=========================
Death Certificate Transcription from original document:
Dorothy Hollandsworth, born 9/15/1926 in CA, age 76, divorced, died 1/24/2003 at 2045 hours at Laguna Honda Hospital, 375 Laguna Honda Blvd., San Francisco, CA
Residence: 174 Ellis Streed #511, San Francisco, 94102; years in county: 64 years
Informant: Steven Hollandsworth, son; 541 Elizabeth Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Father: John Fred Poppin, born in Russia
Mother: Hazel Semioff, born in Russia
Disposition date: 1/28/2003; cremation by Neptune Society of No. California; not embalmed; ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Marin County, CA
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Other: Arterisclerotic heart disease
- Dorothy Ivanovna Poppin -
One day in 1926, when living on the Van Dyke temporary residence in the Rivervale School District in Pleasant Grove, CA about 12 miles west of Lincoln, my father bundled mom into our Model T Ford and drove her to Sheridan, CA. I guess I faintly noticed that my mother had gradually gained additional weight and was in child. Dad drove her to Bill Bogdanoff's house where sister Dorothy was born, delivered by a female midwife.
Mother returned to the Van Dyke farm with Dorothy bundled in her arms and not too much was said about mother's experience in giving birth to our baby sister. In due time all of us took turns in holding baby Dorothy and some of us helped with feeding her the bottle of milk . Dorothy grew and in no time was learning to walk. It was from the Van Dyke farm that we moved to the "old Fuller Ranch" six miles west of Lincoln, CA. Sister Dorothy became the star of the show. Brother John would take her on the farm tractor and she waddled around the ranch and ran from one set of arms to the other as each of us vied to take care of her. She was a doll and cute as a bug in the rug. She was a very happy child and the pride and joy of the family.
In 1930 after the loss of our Fuller ranch to Walter Jansen & Son, our grain merchant to whom we were mortgaged up to our neck , we moved to the Ben Fazio farm in Vanden (Fairfield), CA. By now Dorothy was about four years of age and romped around the farm as Mary, Hazel and I attended Center Grammar in Vanden. Mrs. Messner was our teacher in the one room grammar school by the Southern Pacific railroad in the train milk stop community of Vanden. This was a rough time economically for us who remained on the farm when the older children moved to San Francisco. There wasn't too much money floating around the house and we were always on dire food rations. We had the basic staples of food but it was not that plentiful.
In 1932 the entire family of Dad, Mom, Hazel, Dorothy and myself moved to the big city of San Francisco where the whole family was once again together. We lived in a flat at 980 De Haro Street at Southern Heights Avenue. I attended Daniel Webster Junior High School in 1932 . I recall I became a "traffic cop" for the school and ran to school crossings at street intersections to direct the flow of traffic when coming and going to school. Yes, I was in the harmonica band also and we performed at school rallies. I also began building my body by exercising with bar bell weights. Good old Daniel...such wonderful memories of Potrero Hill and its youth of the day. I played my first game of tackle football at Potrero Hill Playground when I played for Mike Samaduroff's "Wolves" football team. Memories are made of this.
I often sing the Daniel Webster School hymn.." We go forth with firm endeavor , With a purpose ever true and our motto is PERFECTION in whatever we may do......" That song and its words are with me this very day.
In 1934 dad moved mom, Hazel, Dorothy , myself, and baby Joan O'Neill (Sister Alice's child ) to Sheridan, CA in order to go into the "chicken business", that is ,we raised Rhode Island Red poultry for the meat market. WHAT A FLOP THAT WAS IN THAT VENTURE OF RAISING CHICKENS!!! There was a lot of wasted time and money on Dad's part. A debacle as far as I was concerned.
Back to the City of San Francisco we came in 1935. Sister Dorothy started Patrick Henry Grammar School on Potrero Hill. Eventually I matriculated at Santa Clara University and came home occasionally to visit the family on weekends. We got into World War 2 and I was off and running around the 48 states and Europe. I came home on leave from the service on one occasion and it was on Sister Dorothy's graduation day from the High School of Commerce. Dottie and I couldn't make the graduation for I was home on leave and had not seen Dottie for a long time. Sister Dorothy understood my situation. Thank goodness.
My dear baby sister Dorothy grew up to be a tall ( five feet ten inches and weighed about 140 pounds) blonde and attractive young lady with a very beautiful smile. Full of energy and always expressing her fondness for members of the family.
I didn't see much of Sister Dorothy after Dottie and I got married. Dorothy married John Hollandsworth of the US Navy during World War 2. I did not attend the wedding nor did I ever meet Dorothy's husband. John and Dorothy settled down on a farm in Cottonwood, ID. They raised three children...Bill, Mary Jane, and Stephen. Mary Jane's untimely death in ID came as a severe shock to sister Dorothy and she never did get over that death .
Dorothy is living in San Francisco and has worked as a "practical nurse". She keeps in touch with her sons Bill and Steve and on occasion Dottie and I have had her over for lunch at our home on Seventeenth Avenue. She always brought See's candy and goodies with her and we spent a great deal of time reminiscing about our life down on the farm and its warm recollections .
So there it is lock ,stock and barrel - the story of a very proud and happy Poppin family. Once a Poppin always a Poppin. Amen.
May 2000
I called my Aunt Dorothy last month and had a nice chat with her. She lives alone in an apartment in downtown San Francisco. She has not been well and it was evident from her voice that she was having difficulty breathing. She smoked cigarettes for years and now has emphysema. (Nancy Posey)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
June 2002
When I was a young girl, my Aunt Dorothy Hollandsworth would come to San Francisco to visit her family. She usually brought her sons Steve, Bill, and her daughter Mary Jane. I believe Bill came only once. Steve and Mary Jane came each time. Their family lived on a farm in Cottonwood, Idaho. Since I was raised in a large city, it was difficult for me to fathom people living in a small community in another state.
Mary Jane was three years younger than I was, but we were close cousins. During the times we didn't see each other we wrote back and forth. Cousin Diana Thompson also wrote to Mary Jane and even had a chance to visit her in Cottonwood. I don't recall all of the things we did when she visited. I remember the fun we had just being girls.
I always liked my aunt. She was tall very friendly. She had blond curly hair and had a county look about her. Steven was dark-haired, slim, and tall. Mary Jane was dark-haired and had the prettiest dimples in her cheeks. She died in 1977 and it was one of the saddest days of my life.
Aunt Dorothy adored her daughter. When she died I think something died inside of her. The farm had not done well and she divorced her husband, John Hollandsworth and moved to San Francisco.
Christmas 2001 - I was in SF for the Christmas holiday and Mom, Dad and I went to visit Aunt Dorothy. She was living at the Laguna Honda Home. When we arrived she was receiving oxygen. She recognized my father right away. Aunt Dorothy had her hair short and it was dark gray. She wasn't wearing her teeth that day, but was chatty for the entire visit. She wanted to hear about the rest of the family and appeared happy to hear the news. She has a smoking problem and really cannot take care of herself. So she decided to take up residence at the home. She has a bed and dresser in a woman's ward and can pull the curtains for privacy. It is amazing to me that when we are young, all we want is stuff and more stuff. Yet as we get older, we want to get rid of it. Aunt Dorothy has a few clothes and personal items and money to allow her to live simply. She has all she needs. We said our goodbyes and it was sad to leave. But we'll be back. [Nancy Poppin Posey]
======================
----- Original Message -----
From: Nancy Posey
To: Myrna Thompson ; Hazel Payne ; John Poppin ; Myrna Jeanne Ferro ; Joan Fladger ; John Andrews ; George Andrews
Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 9:27 PM
Subject: My visit with Aunt Dorothy
Hi....got back home this afternoon. It was great being home for two weeks. Yesterday, Mom, Dad and I visited Aunt Dorothy at Laguna Honda Home. She's in the same ward G3. Her hair is longer and she is slightly heavier. She was real thin the last time. She says she has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). She was breathing in oxygen when we got there about 2:30pm. She was SO happy to see all of us. We gave her some See's candy (creams) and body lotion (she was out) and she showed us her brand new white heavy duty terry-cloth robe. It was a gift from the volunteers. I brought the pictures I made from Aunt Alice's album. She walked down memory lane for a spell and then when she looked at Aunt Alice's picture, her face grew dark. I gather they didn't get along. Who did? She and Dad spoke Russian for a bit. She asked about the rest of the family and I told her what I knew. I passed on your thoughts, George, and she asked "Where is he?" Billy moved to another part of Idaho for work. He called her on Christmas. That explains why his phone was disconnected. Steve was coming to visit today.
Aunt Dorothy is HAPPY and content. We had a nice one hour visit and it was time to go.
=========================
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2003 8:50 AM
Subject: Death
Hi
Just received a phone call from your cousin Steven Hollandsworth,(Aunt Dorothy's son) to tell us that she died last night around 10:30pm...(age 76). A Laguna Honda Hospital aide was checking the ward and found her.
Her request is for Steven to handle her cremation and have her remains scattered beyond the Golden Gate Bridge..
We have no plans to attend. Steven will call if there is anything we should know.
Mom
=========================
Death Certificate Transcription from original document:
Dorothy Hollandsworth, born 9/15/1926 in CA, age 76, divorced, died 1/24/2003 at 2045 hours at Laguna Honda Hospital, 375 Laguna Honda Blvd., San Francisco, CA
Residence: 174 Ellis Streed #511, San Francisco, 94102; years in county: 64 years
Informant: Steven Hollandsworth, son; 541 Elizabeth Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Father: John Fred Poppin, born in Russia
Mother: Hazel Semioff, born in Russia
Disposition date: 1/28/2003; cremation by Neptune Society of No. California; not embalmed; ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Marin County, CA
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Other: Arterisclerotic heart disease
One day in 1926, when living on the Van Dyke temporary residence in the Rivervale School District in Pleasant Grove, CA about 12 miles west of Lincoln, my father bundled mom into our Model T Ford and drove her to Sheridan, CA. I guess I faintly noticed that my mother had gradually gained additional weight and was in child. Dad drove her to Bill Bogdanoff's house where sister Dorothy was born, delivered by a female midwife.
Mother returned to the Van Dyke farm with Dorothy bundled in her arms and not too much was said about mother's experience in giving birth to our baby sister. In due time all of us took turns in holding baby Dorothy and some of us helped with feeding her the bottle of milk . Dorothy grew and in no time was learning to walk. It was from the Van Dyke farm that we moved to the "old Fuller Ranch" six miles west of Lincoln, CA. Sister Dorothy became the star of the show. Brother John would take her on the farm tractor and she waddled around the ranch and ran from one set of arms to the other as each of us vied to take care of her. She was a doll and cute as a bug in the rug. She was a very happy child and the pride and joy of the family.
In 1930 after the loss of our Fuller ranch to Walter Jansen & Son, our grain merchant to whom we were mortgaged up to our neck , we moved to the Ben Fazio farm in Vanden (Fairfield), CA. By now Dorothy was about four years of age and romped around the farm as Mary, Hazel and I attended Center Grammar in Vanden. Mrs. Messner was our teacher in the one room grammar school by the Southern Pacific railroad in the train milk stop community of Vanden. This was a rough time economically for us who remained on the farm when the older children moved to San Francisco. There wasn't too much money floating around the house and we were always on dire food rations. We had the basic staples of food but it was not that plentiful.
In 1932 the entire family of Dad, Mom, Hazel, Dorothy and myself moved to the big city of San Francisco where the whole family was once again together. We lived in a flat at 980 De Haro Street at Southern Heights Avenue. I attended Daniel Webster Junior High School in 1932 . I recall I became a "traffic cop" for the school and ran to school crossings at street intersections to direct the flow of traffic when coming and going to school. Yes, I was in the harmonica band also and we performed at school rallies. I also began building my body by exercising with bar bell weights. Good old Daniel...such wonderful memories of Potrero Hill and its youth of the day. I played my first game of tackle football at Potrero Hill Playground when I played for Mike Samaduroff's "Wolves" football team. Memories are made of this.
I often sing the Daniel Webster School hymn.." We go forth with firm endeavor , With a purpose ever true and our motto is PERFECTION in whatever we may do......" That song and its words are with me this very day.
In 1934 dad moved mom, Hazel, Dorothy , myself, and baby Joan O'Neill (Sister Alice's child ) to Sheridan, CA in order to go into the "chicken business", that is ,we raised Rhode Island Red poultry for the meat market. WHAT A FLOP THAT WAS IN THAT VENTURE OF RAISING CHICKENS!!! There was a lot of wasted time and money on Dad's part. A debacle as far as I was concerned.
Back to the City of San Francisco we came in 1935. Sister Dorothy started Patrick Henry Grammar School on Potrero Hill. Eventually I matriculated at Santa Clara University and came home occasionally to visit the family on weekends. We got into World War 2 and I was off and running around the 48 states and Europe. I came home on leave from the service on one occasion and it was on Sister Dorothy's graduation day from the High School of Commerce. Dottie and I couldn't make the graduation for I was home on leave and had not seen Dottie for a long time. Sister Dorothy understood my situation. Thank goodness.
My dear baby sister Dorothy grew up to be a tall ( five feet ten inches and weighed about 140 pounds) blonde and attractive young lady with a very beautiful smile. Full of energy and always expressing her fondness for members of the family.
I didn't see much of Sister Dorothy after Dottie and I got married. Dorothy married John Hollandsworth of the US Navy during World War 2. I did not attend the wedding nor did I ever meet Dorothy's husband. John and Dorothy settled down on a farm in Cottonwood, ID. They raised three children...Bill, Mary Jane, and Stephen. Mary Jane's untimely death in ID came as a severe shock to sister Dorothy and she never did get over that death .
Dorothy is living in San Francisco and has worked as a "practical nurse". She keeps in touch with her sons Bill and Steve and on occasion Dottie and I have had her over for lunch at our home on Seventeenth Avenue. She always brought See's candy and goodies with her and we spent a great deal of time reminiscing about our life down on the farm and its warm recollections .
So there it is lock ,stock and barrel - the story of a very proud and happy Poppin family. Once a Poppin always a Poppin. Amen.
May 2000
I called my Aunt Dorothy last month and had a nice chat with her. She lives alone in an apartment in downtown San Francisco. She has not been well and it was evident from her voice that she was having difficulty breathing. She smoked cigarettes for years and now has emphysema. (Nancy Posey)
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June 2002
When I was a young girl, my Aunt Dorothy Hollandsworth would come to San Francisco to visit her family. She usually brought her sons Steve, Bill, and her daughter Mary Jane. I believe Bill came only once. Steve and Mary Jane came each time. Their family lived on a farm in Cottonwood, Idaho. Since I was raised in a large city, it was difficult for me to fathom people living in a small community in another state.
Mary Jane was three years younger than I was, but we were close cousins. During the times we didn't see each other we wrote back and forth. Cousin Diana Thompson also wrote to Mary Jane and even had a chance to visit her in Cottonwood. I don't recall all of the things we did when she visited. I remember the fun we had just being girls.
I always liked my aunt. She was tall very friendly. She had blond curly hair and had a county look about her. Steven was dark-haired, slim, and tall. Mary Jane was dark-haired and had the prettiest dimples in her cheeks. She died in 1977 and it was one of the saddest days of my life.
Aunt Dorothy adored her daughter. When she died I think something died inside of her. The farm had not done well and she divorced her husband, John Hollandsworth and moved to San Francisco.
Christmas 2001 - I was in SF for the Christmas holiday and Mom, Dad and I went to visit Aunt Dorothy. She was living at the Laguna Honda Home. When we arrived she was receiving oxygen. She recognized my father right away. Aunt Dorothy had her hair short and it was dark gray. She wasn't wearing her teeth that day, but was chatty for the entire visit. She wanted to hear about the rest of the family and appeared happy to hear the news. She has a smoking problem and really cannot take care of herself. So she decided to take up residence at the home. She has a bed and dresser in a woman's ward and can pull the curtains for privacy. It is amazing to me that when we are young, all we want is stuff and more stuff. Yet as we get older, we want to get rid of it. Aunt Dorothy has a few clothes and personal items and money to allow her to live simply. She has all she needs. We said our goodbyes and it was sad to leave. But we'll be back. [Nancy Poppin Posey]
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----- Original Message -----
From: Nancy Posey
To: Myrna Thompson ; Hazel Payne ; John Poppin ; Myrna Jeanne Ferro ; Joan Fladger ; John Andrews ; George Andrews
Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 9:27 PM
Subject: My visit with Aunt Dorothy
Hi....got back home this afternoon. It was great being home for two weeks. Yesterday, Mom, Dad and I visited Aunt Dorothy at Laguna Honda Home. She's in the same ward G3. Her hair is longer and she is slightly heavier. She was real thin the last time. She says she has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). She was breathing in oxygen when we got there about 2:30pm. She was SO happy to see all of us. We gave her some See's candy (creams) and body lotion (she was out) and she showed us her brand new white heavy duty terry-cloth robe. It was a gift from the volunteers. I brought the pictures I made from Aunt Alice's album. She walked down memory lane for a spell and then when she looked at Aunt Alice's picture, her face grew dark. I gather they didn't get along. Who did? She and Dad spoke Russian for a bit. She asked about the rest of the family and I told her what I knew. I passed on your thoughts, George, and she asked "Where is he?" Billy moved to another part of Idaho for work. He called her on Christmas. That explains why his phone was disconnected. Steve was coming to visit today.
Aunt Dorothy is HAPPY and content. We had a nice one hour visit and it was time to go.
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----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2003 8:50 AM
Subject: Death
Hi
Just received a phone call from your cousin Steven Hollandsworth,(Aunt Dorothy's son) to tell us that she died last night around 10:30pm...(age 76). A Laguna Honda Hospital aide was checking the ward and found her.
Her request is for Steven to handle her cremation and have her remains scattered beyond the Golden Gate Bridge..
We have no plans to attend. Steven will call if there is anything we should know.
Mom
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Death Certificate Transcription from original document:
Dorothy Hollandsworth, born 9/15/1926 in CA, age 76, divorced, died 1/24/2003 at 2045 hours at Laguna Honda Hospital, 375 Laguna Honda Blvd., San Francisco, CA
Residence: 174 Ellis Streed #511, San Francisco, 94102; years in county: 64 years
Informant: Steven Hollandsworth, son; 541 Elizabeth Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Father: John Fred Poppin, born in Russia
Mother: Hazel Semioff, born in Russia
Disposition date: 1/28/2003; cremation by Neptune Society of No. California; not embalmed; ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Marin County, CA
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Other: Arterisclerotic heart disease
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