Dorothea Morgan was born Dorothea Marie Antoinette Ammann Pares de Olivea in Barcelona, Spain shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. She was the oldest child of a Spanish father, Alexander, and a German mother, Marie and had one brother, Alfredo. The family was driven from Spain by the unrest and violence of the war, and made their way to Austria, where many of the Ammann's still abide.

Dorothea often stated that her life was never free from war. Barely had the family settled when Hitler annexed Austria and they were forced to flee into Germany to live with Marie's parents. The winds of war robbed Dorothea of her father and forced her to change from her native tongue of Spanish to German.

It was while growing up in Nuremberg, Germany that Dorothea acquired the skills that would shape her life. She was a classically trained dancer, performing at a young age in the ballet corps of the Nuremberg Opera. The reduced circumstances of her family, after the disappearance of her father, dictated top marks in school and artistic contributions to the family budget.   She created stationary and decorated birth and confirmation notices for the local cathedral.

Dorothea survived the labor camps of Nazi Germany and was hired by the American military government as a translator in the lower courts, being considered neutral and not a German citizen. It was during this time that she met her future husband, Brigham Morgan, and launched the adventurous life of a creative homemaker, mother and teacher. Dorothea and Brigham moved 22 times in 21 years during his military career, but managed to raise five sons and one daughter along the way. Everywhere they moved, Dorothea would start dance classes, teach language classes, plant gardens, direct church choirs and run Sunday schools and pre-schools.

In the mid-1950's, the family settled in Southern Pines, North Carolina for six years, where Dorothea received the Golden Scouting Key of America from the Boy Scouts: there was no one else to run the troop, and they didn't realize she was a woman until it was too late! How else were her oldest sons to earn their badges and become Eagle Scouts?

In 1960, the biggest move of all took the family from North Carolina to Anchorage, Alaska. It was in Anchorage that Dorothea truly established herself as a teacher and an artist of the highest quality. After finishing her Montessori training by correspondence through Oxford University, Dorothea ran nine Montessori schools, while teaching 40 pre-schoolers in her own model classroom. In addition, she trained Montessori teachers through the University of Alaska, taught classical ballet and continued her famous children's art classes. She also had six children at home, with all the work that entails!

The next big change in Dorothea's life came when Brigham retired from the Civil Service in the early 1970's. He no longer wished to live in Alaska, but Dorothea had a strong following and dedicated students there. Her final art show sold out in less than three hours.

Dorothea's price for leaving Alaska was a minimum of twenty acres, which the couple found at the base of Eden Valley, west of Port Angeles. They moved to Port Angeles in 1976 and immediately began contributing to the communities welfare. While Brigham established himself as the Peninsula goat expert, along with his youngest son, Dorothea once again set up an art studio and returned to her career as an amazing teacher and artist. She took a two year sabbatical in 1980 to earn her Master of Fine Arts in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. This allowed her to explore new horizons in art, as well as to relearn the language of her birth.

Dorothea led and intense, family focused life, often fraught with challenges and difficulties. She was a fierce advocate of the peace movement and a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, having experienced the devastations of war first hand. In addition, she was a deeply spiritual and thoughtful individual, a trait which shines forth in every work of art she has created, from her paintings to her quilts to her glowing paper stars. She had many survival techniques that kept her going, including world travel, intense gardening and starting new quilts every time her doctors gave her a bad report.

Dorothea is survived by her brother, Alfredo Ammann; by her five sons, Brigham, Walter, Gene, David and Christopher; by her only daughter, Deborah Morgan-Ellis and by eighteen grand-children. The family continues to grow with more than twenty great-grandchildren. Her husband, Brigham Morgan, preceded her in death in 1987.

Donations in Dorothea's honor may be made to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Volunteer Hospice of Clallam Co. or the Salvation Army.

A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, January 1 ^st at 2pm at St. Andrew's, 510 E. Park in Port Angeles.