Obituary of Dorothea Gamble

Dorothea H. Gamble died peacefully two months short of her 100th birthday on Friday, September 18 at Pine Acres in Madison, New Jersey. She will be deeply missed. Dorothea was born Esther Dorothea Hollender on November 23, 1920, in Morristown, New Jersey to John Frederick Hollender and Esther Dorothea Follis Hollender. She was the eldest of five siblings. As a young person, Dorothea developed a love for music, learned to play the piano, and later studied music in a school setting. Her talent was such that she was asked to assist Albert Baez, future father of folksinger Joan Baez, in music instruction at Morris County Junior College in Morristown. Determined to pursue her own education beyond high school, she utilized a church loan to attend the College of St. Elizabeth at Convent Station, New Jersey. When Dorothea was twenty, her mother died, and that same year she married Gordon L. Gamble, an engineer at Bell Telephone Laboratories. A few years later, the young couple brought Dorothea's 12-year-old sister, Joyce, to live with them for the next eight years. After raising her four children, Dorothea turned her focus back to college and completed her studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Bachelor of Science degree and admittance to Phi Omega Epsilon. She taught for fifteen years in the Morris Township and Chester, New Jersey public school systems, where she was known for her innovative and effective techniques. In retirement, Dorothea and Gordon realized her dream of travel and the opportunity to project her love of geography and history on a global screen, including a trip around the world by train. Dorothea derived much strength from her faith and the church. She taught Sunday School, participated in many church organizations and projects, sang in the church choir, and encouraged her children to attend church regularly. She served as Mission Education chairperson of United Presbyterian Women and as a representative for Church Women United to the United Nations. She continued to teach Biblical history classes well into her nineties. The written word carried great value for Dorothea, whether from an immersion in a work of fiction or in pursuit of knowledge between the covers of an educational tome. She instilled this love for reading in her children and even ventured to write drafts of stories, one of which, "The Church Pigeon", was published when she was ninety-eight years old. But the enriching and soulful power of music was the true mainstay for Dorothea, and her children fondly remember her impromptu singing sessions at the old Steinway. Eventually, her talent was tasked toward accompanying the violinists, trumpeter, cellist, and singers who developed within the family fold. All her children continue their expression of music whether as a career or for enjoyment. All who knew her will miss Dorothea's warmth and enveloping love, her mentoring and nurturing nature, her positive and cheerful outlook, her steady moral compass, and her acceptance of every creature, great or small. Dorothea Hollender Gamble is survived by her brother, Ronald G Hollender of Boonton, New Jersey, her sister Jane A Hollender of Vineland, New Jersey, her half-sister Jean Hancock of North Port, Florida, her daughter Leslie Gamble Webster and husband Donald of Madison, New Jersey, her son Richard Gamble and wife Ann of Los Alamos, California, her daughter Lynn Gamble of Florence, Oregon, her son Jonathan Gamble and wife Nancy of Eagle, Colorado, her sister Joyce's son Thomas Pike of Telluride, Colorado, her nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Arrangements are by the Burroughs Kohr Dangler Funeral Home in Madison, NJ. A memorial service is planned for a future time.