Dorothy Lee (Shears) Flinn died May 2, 2022. She was 93.
Lee was born Nov. 27,1928, in Elizabeth, West Virginia, the only child of Ray and Dorothy Shears. She lived on a farm and enjoyed swimming, playing the clarinet in the high school band and going to dances.
After she graduated from high school, Lee attended Camden-Clark Memorial Nursing School in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and completed her clinicals in Washington, D.C. She made the most of her time in the nation’s capital, seeing the sights, going to movies and dancing. She graduated on June 5, 1951.
Lee met her husband, Robert (Bob) Flinn, at a swimming pool in Parkersburg, where he was a lifeguard. They were married on Aug. 2, 1951. In 1952, they had their first child, Beckie, followed by Debbie in 1953 and Eric in 1954.
With her husband serving in the Air Force, Lee and her family lived in nearly a dozen places across the country, and even overseas in Guam for two years. After Bob retired from the Air Force in 1967, they settled in Great Falls. Lee went back to work and spent 20 years as a nurse at Deaconess Hospital. She worked in the geriatrics unit, emergency room and in surgery for the last eight years, which was her favorite.
After she retired, she enjoyed volunteering at the Malmstrom Air Force Base pharmacy and tending to her rose garden. She and Bob also enjoyed traveling to Hawaii, and Lee also went on an Alaskan cruise with her high school graduating class.
She is survived by her children, Beckie Squires (Bill) of Helena, Debbie Flinn-Hedeen (Charles) of Great Falls and Eric Flinn (Theresa) of Belt; grandchildren Kristina Vezane, Allison Franz, Jason Squires, Austin Walker, Robbie Flinn and Sydne Flinn; and great-grandchildren Kreston Noyes Vezane and Lily and Nora Franz.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Dorothy; her husband, Bob; and her great- grandson Greydun Stockinger.
Lee’s family will gather at Holter Lake later this month for a celebration of her life. Donations in her memory can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, act.alz.org.
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