Dorine Gilmore Obituary

Dorine (AKA Dede) died August 13, 2025 at Evenings Porch Assisted Living. She was 91.

Dorine was born to Loy and Vivian McMullen on February 10, 1934, in Liberal, Kansas, in the heart of the Depression era Dust Bowl. While working for the US Soil Conservation Service, her father was helping destitute farmers keep their precious earth from blowing away. Loy was transferred from one western Kansas town to another, and the family pulled up shallow roots and started over every one to two years. Since childhood, Dorine has despised wind.

She was 13 when the family finally settled in Lincoln, Nebraska. At 17, she met her future husband Allen, age 20, on a blind double date. In short order the budding romance was preempted while Allen served his country in the Korean War. Dorine stored Allen's weekly letters from his post in Korea in a shoe box and awaited his return in late 1953, nearly two years after he was drafted.

Dorine and Allen were married August 21, 1954. Their first child, Steven Loy, was born in 1955. Both new parents graduated from the University of Nebraska, each receiving a degree in education.

The young couple soon relocated with their son to Omaha, Nebraska, where Allen began his high school teaching career. That's where their two daughters were born, Judith Lynn in 1958 and Linda Lee in 1959.

Linda was born with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. After Linda left home at age 20, Dorine continued to advocate for her. To this day one of Linda's very few words is "Mom."

In 1983, Dorine and Allen moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, after Allen retired from teaching in 1980. As an elementary school librarian, Dorine took over as the main breadwinner. She treasured her time reading aloud to groups of kids and fostering a craving for books.

Meanwhile, Allen built their very own mountain cabin on 40 acres in Paradise Park, west of Fort Collins. It was a dream come true and they made the most of their time in the woods. They especially enjoyed sharing the place with family and friends.

Dorine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2018. Two years later she moved to Durango to be close to daughter Judy. For the last three years of her life Dede felt very much at home at Evenings Porch Assisted Living in nearby Bayfield. The family is eternally grateful to the team at Evenings Porch for their exceptional and compassionate care.

Dede's passion throughout her life was hiking in her beloved mountains: setting eyes on her favorite wildflowers, soaking up the sound of a babbling brook, and inhaling the aroma of pine. Since hiking became too difficult, her daughter took her for drives in the high country near Durango whenever possible. Dede would say, "Those trees are so tall!" and "Thank you for bringing me here."

Plain and simple, Dede loved people. That feature was never taken away by Alzheimer's. In the final few years of her life she said "I love you" a lot. In fact, to just about everyone she met. The further her dementia progressed, the more often she said those words. She brightened a lot of lives.

Dorine is survived by her three children, Steve (Cindy), Judith (John), and Linda (caregivers Jason and Lyndi), as well as two grandchildren, Alicia (Matt) and Amanda (Adam), and four great-grandchildren, Alicia and Matt's sons Calvin, Victor, and Judah, and Amanda and Adam's son Nolan. She is also survived by her sisters Carol and Barbara.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Allen.

A celebration of Dorine's life will be held Saturday, September 20 at 2 pm in Hood Mortuary's chapel in Durango.