Dorothy Audrey Nahanee Almojuela
January 25, 1918 – November 6, 2011
Dorothy Audrey Nahanee Almojuela, 93, died peacefully in her sleep early November 6, 2011. A member of the Squamish Nation, she was born in North Vancouver, BC, Canada on January 25, 1918, the second child of seven born to Edward Gilbert Nahanee and Margaret Elizabeth Joe. She grew up on the Squamish Reserve. She attended St. Paul’s Boarding School through the eighth grade, but was unable to continue her education into high school in order to care for her mother who had Parkinson’s disease.
In the early summer of 1942 for her first time she joined her grandmother and other close relations on their annual summer migration to Bainbridge Island to pick strawberries. There she met and fell in love with the strawberry farmer, Thomas Corpuz Almojuela, who had migrated from the Philippines a dozen years earlier and who rented land on Bainbridge and started berry farming. In July of that same “Summer of 42” they married. In the late 1940’s they bought their land on Day Road. They cleared the land, planted strawberries and built the home themselves with the help of Dorothy’s younger brother, Harold Nahanee. She and Tom became the proud parents of five children. Despite her own lack of a high school education, she emphasized the importance of studying and hard work to her children. Her efforts enabled her to take great pride in that all the children were Honor Society students at Bainbridge high school and several excelled in their athletic achievements in high school and beyond. She was most proud that all her children were college graduates with three earning post graduate degrees and until her last breath was amazed that each of her children was able to fund his and her own education. Dorothy was always grateful for the help and support of the many relatives and friends of the family on Bainbridge enabling her and her family to achieve their dreams and most important of all, an immense appreciation for their happiness and for their many blessings.
Dorothy and Tom were married until his death in 1994. In addition to her husband, she is preceded in death by her brothers Raymond, Arnold, Edward, and Harold. She is survived by her brother James and sister Patricia; her children, Thomas (wife Lorena) of Santiago, Chile, Colleen of Bainbridge Island, Edward (wife Diane) of Silverdale, Benito (wife Marie) of Palm Springs, CA, and Denise of Kingston. She has six grandchildren, Anthony Neal, Justin Neal, Michelle Koppin, Monica Gaertner, Mariela Almojuela, and Tommy Almojuela. Dorothy has three great-grandchildren Dylan Neal and Owen and Simon Gaertner.
A vigil was held at St. Olaf’s Catholic Church in Poulsbo on Thursday, November 10th at 7PM and the Funeral Mass at St Olaf’s will be at 1PM on Friday, November 11th. The Rite of Committal will immediately follow the Mass and it will be at Kane Cemetery in Port Madison on Bainbridge Island. Immediately afterwards a reception will be held at the House of the Awakened in Suquamish.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of Kitsap County, P.O. Box 3416, Silverdale, WA 98383.
Please sign the online Guest Book for the family at: www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.
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