Dorothy Jane Reamey went home to be with the Lord on Feb. 29, 2016. Dorothy Jane (or Dot, as many affectionately called her) was born on Aug. 10, 1924, in Benton, Arkansas to Harry Hankins and Elizabeth (Holleman) Thompson.
Dorothy Jane was born to dance! She grew up dancing at the Dorothy Donelson Studio and continued to dance as long as she was able to walk unassisted well into her eighties. Dot danced her way into Herb Reamey’s heart at Little Rock High School. They married at the age of 19 on May 19, 1944, shortly before Herb left for Europe to fight for our freedom during World War II. After the war, the then family of three moved to Fayetteville where Dot worked as a secretary and took care of little Kirk while Herb got his engineering degree. Upon his graduation they moved to Trafford, Pennsylvania where son Jack was born then back to Arkansas in Arkadelphia where they joined the Reynolds Metals family, and their third child, Ann, was born. Dot was very involved in her children’s lives. She taught them and many others how to dance, was a Cub Scout Den Mother, and a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader.
Dot went back to complete her college degree in elementary education at Henderson in Arkadelphia when their younger two children were in elementary school. Kirk was also a student at Henderson. Mother and son were quite proud when they took the same course and scored the two highest grades in the class!
Dot was a great support and encourager for Herb never complaining when his promotions with Reynolds required yet another move. Those moves took them to Florence, Alabama twice, Hot Springs, and on to Richmond, Virginia where they retired. After Herb’s death in 1993, Dot moved back to Arkansas and settled in Little Rock to be closer to her children and grandchildren.
In addition to her dancing skills, Dot was a great walker, swimmer, and an outstanding ping pong player competing in several Senior Olympics table tennis competitions in Virginia and Arkansas. She was an avid bird-watcher, dog lover, and was keenly interested in health and nutrition.
Dorothy Jane had a beautiful smile, charming personality, and a loud, contagious laugh. She made friends quickly and could hardly wait to invite some poor, unsuspecting soul, who thought he/she was doing a good deed playing ping pong with an elderly little lady–and she would wallop them!
Dot knew Christ as her Savior and Lord and was actively involved with a local body of believers everywhere she lived. This side of Heaven, while singing was definitely not her gift, no one unashamedly praised the Lord in song like she did! She lived life joyfully and was an incredible blessing to her family and friends.
Dorothy Jane was preceded in death by her baby sister, Nan Elizabeth Thompson, who died as a toddler; her parents; and her husband, Herb Reamey.
She is survived by three children, Kirk (Conie) Reamey, of Clinton, Arkansas, Jack (Carol) Reamey, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Ann (Larry) McCraw, of Little Rock. She has eight grandchildren and fourteen
