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Dorothea Taylor

Dorothea Taylor, 94, died peacefully in her sleep Dec. 27, 2020.

Dorothea was born and raised in Sugar Grove, Pa. She was one of the first women in Warren County to go back and finish high school after she was married. She went on to get a teaching degree from Edinboro State College which led to teaching in Tidioute and Youngsville, Pa. In 1962 she took a teaching position at Petersburg, Alaska, for one year. In 1963-64 she taught at Jamestown, N.Y., before returning to Alaska to continue her teaching career. She taught in the rural Alaskan villages of Fort Yukon, Port Wakefield, Port Lions, and Whittier be-fore taking teaching positions at Fort Richardson and then in Anchorage, Alaska. Along the way, she earned two masters degrees from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Montana. She also studied the Norwegian language at the University of Norway in Oslo, Norway.

After retiring from the Anchorage School District she moved with her husband to Willow, Alaska, where she had a beautiful log home built. At her home in Willow she developed one of the most outstanding flower gardens in the Willow area. Dorothea was a very avid outdoor person. She loved camping, hunting, fishing (was also a commercial fisherwoman), hiking, skiing and floating wild rivers by herself and with friends. She enjoyed flying out to remote areas with either her husband or son.

Dorothea is survived by her husband, George Murphy, Willow, Alaska; daughter, Sandra Kiedrowski, Sugar Grove, Pa; son, Chip Taylor and his wife, Sharon, Willow, Alaska; seven grandchildren; and numerous great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

Family requests memorial bequests be sent to Warren County Historical Society, Warren, Pa., or Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pa.