Obituary of Dorothy Jean Hatcher

Dorothy Jean Hatcher, age 85, of Portsmouth Virginia, was born January 14^th, 1939, to Thomas Woods and Ida Mae Sloan Woods of Fairmont, West Virginia. On September 24th she fell asleep in death at Portsmouth Health and Rehab nursing home at 900 London Boulevard, in Portsmouth Virginia. Dorothy is preceded in death by her husband John Hatcher, and stepson John G Hatcher, sisters Ida Mae Clemmons, Mary Black, Geraldine McElroy, Elizabeth Preston, and brothers Michael woods, William Woods, and Ernest J Scott.

  Dorothy is survived by her nephew and his wife, Marlon and Leslie Hatcher, and best friend Bertha Ricks.

  Dorothy first heard the truth as a child from her mother who taught all her children about the Bible and Jehovah. She graduated from Dunbar high School in West Virginia and shortly after, moved in with her sister Ida Mae Clemmons in Washington DC. In 1968 she moved to Portsmouth Virginia where she studied the Bible and dedicated herself to Jehovah in 1972, and later she met her husband, John Hatcher. Dorothy worked in the cafeteria at Portsmouth general hospital and assisted seniors in their homes after retirement and took care of them. She said she really loved that job. One thing for sure she loved her family. She often talked about her family in West Virginia, the Maryland area, and New Jersey. She had a really good relationship with her family. She looked forward each year to be with them at their annual family reunions. She truly loved her family and most of them are serving Jehovah. She loved to go to family reunions every year. She would come back and tell us all about it and look forward to the next time they had one. Although her family has a great spiritual background her success came from the personal relationship that she had with Jehovah. She loved him and people very much and that moved her to talk about Jehovah God and his son and the kingdom with everybody she met. The congregation would often say that if anybody can find her man or woman to return back on them, it’s Dorothy. She had a very good memory. She could tell you about people and old acquaintances and territories that she used to work. While in the nursing home, she used that as her territory and often would ask sisters and brothers to assist her on some of the returns that she made. She often would request Bibles and literature to start studies. You didn't have to worry about her so long if she was preaching. Even in tough circumstances she was okay. She also had this great love for singing and often friends would invite her to gatherings and weddings, and she would sing so beautifully. We will all miss her dearly till Jehovah brings her back.