Dorothy Pearl Chambers
Dorothy passed away peacefully in her home with her daughter, son, and granddaughter by her side on the afternoon of April 22nd, 2018 while listening to music that was popular in her childhood.
“Dottie”, as she was called, was born in the rural area of Pine Knot, Kentucky. Daughter of Anna and Charlie Murphy, she was born the second of 8 children and grew up a country girl with bloomers sewn from flour sacks and uncles who made moonshine and buried it in the backyard. At 19 years old she was working just over the state line at Tobes Diner in Oneida, Tennessee when she was introduced to a handsome sailor named Billy Chambers. It was love at first sight, and just nine short days later they were married.
She left home for the first time when she was 20, taking a train by herself across the country to San Diego to join her new husband. In addition to being a Navy wife, Dottie also enjoyed the routine and friendships she developed at various jobs ranging from a receptionist at a beauty shop, to an aerobics instructor, to fabricating medical equipment in a clean room (all without a high school diploma!).
Her first child, son Gary, was born in 1951 while living with her in-laws in Tennessee while Billy was overseas in the Korean War. A little over two years later her second child, daughter Shari, was born in 1954 while they were temporarily living in Tacoma, Washington. When they settled back home in San Diego Dottie continued to work, take care of her children with the support of Billy’s mother Rachel, and also enjoyed donning beautiful dresses, meticulous makeup and fabulous big hair to attend various social events through the Navy with her husband.
Dottie also loved to travel, with summer drives to Kentucky along Route 66 when the kids were young, frequent trips to Hawaii and Mexico with her husband Billy, a solo trip to London to visit her brother Bobby while he was stationed there, and trips up to the Pacific Northwest to visit her son and his family. Her final trip was to the big island of Hawaii, where she drank Mai-Tais on the lanai and swam in a pool overlooking the beach with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter, which is a memory that will be forever treasured by her family.
Dottie and Billy lived in San Diego until the summer of 2009, when a series of health issues necessitated a move to Santa Barbara to be closer to their daughter. Dottie remained a devoted wife and caretaker to Billy up until his death in 2010. After his passing, she enjoyed the constant companionship of their spoiled pup Todo, taking frequent walks with her around their neighborhood of Encina Royale to chat with other dog owners and playing endless fetch with her in the living room.
Dottie is survived by her daughter Shari Chambers, son and daughter-in-law Gary and Kim Chambers, and grandchildren Rachel (Brenton), Lauren (Jake), Charlie and Elle. She also took great joy in the antics of her great-grandchildren Coralie, Merrick, Logan, and Alex, the former of whom will have fond memories of their “GG” sitting patiently while they adorned her with foam jewelry and served her play-doh treats.
The family would also like to thank Dottie’s compassionate caregivers Julia and Maria, who went above and beyond to keep Dottie comfortable at the end of her life and assisted Shari, granddaughter Elle (and Gary via daily phone calls) in providing her company and keeping her in steady supply of milkshakes.
Dorothy will be interned with husband Billy at Fort Rosecrans Military Cemetery on Point Loma in San Diego. She will be greatly missed by those who love her, but we know that she enjoyed a beautifully unexpected life for a true country girl from Kentucky.
Arrangements entrusted to McDermott Crockett Mortuary.