12/28/2006
Dorothy Buck Raphael of Warren passed away on December 21, 2006, in her 87th year. She was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, one of eight children of William and Isabelle (Grant) Buck.
Dorothy grew up in Canada and attended the Margaret Eaton School for Girls in Toronto. In 1939 she enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and served until 1943. After the war she attended McGill University and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in physical therapy. She then moved to New York and received a master's degree in guidance and personnel administration from NYU. She became employed as the assistant to the director of the children's division of the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in New York City working with handicapped children.
She married Albert A. Raphael Jr. of New York City in 1960. She is survived by her husband of Warren; her son, Bruce Raphael and his wife, Lisa, and their twins, Ashley and William, all of Andover, MA. Bruce is a third generation lawyer in the Raphael family.
Dorothy and Al met while skiing in Manchester, VT, and were lifelong lovers of the sport. In 1966, they purchased a small vacation house in Waitsfield on the hill behind the Howard Bank. However, they decided that Vermont was a better environment for bringing up Bruce, and that traveling from New York City didn't cut it. In 1971 they took the plunge, built a home in Waitsfield and became full-time residents. Al began to practice law in the Mad River Valley and in a couple of years had weaned himself completely away from his New York practice.
Along the way, Al and others purchased the Village Square Shopping Center. It is family lore that Al needed a tenant for the Center and inveigled Dottie in 1973 into opening a toy store which she owned and operated for five years. She became one of Al's first Vermont clients!
These were busy years for Dorothy, raising Bruce, running The Toy Store and taking care of her home and husband. Nevertheless she continued her love of skiing and she, Al and Bruce could often be seen on the ski slopes in winter and on the golf course in summer. In 2004, Dorothy and Al downsized to a condominium at The Farms in Warren.
Dorothy contracted breast cancer in 1971 but was fully active for 34 years! In the past year and a half her health failed and she finally succumbed to the disease.
There are no services. For those who wish, memorial gifts would be appreciated to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641, or to the Mad River Valley Community Fund, P.O. Box 353, Waitsfield, VT 05673. The family is being assisted by the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury. To send online condolences, please visit www.perkinsparker.com.
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