Lester F. "Hap" Dorothy

Lester F. Dorothy, better known as "Hap" to his family and friends, was born the son of Grant L. Dorothy and Elsie (Van Cleave) Dorothy on April 17, 1899, on a farm near Blakesburg, Iowa.  

In 1905 he moved with his parents to a homestead in the Ottumwa area northeast of Philip.  After his parents proved up on the homestead, the family moved into Philip where Grant and his two brothers owned and operated the Range Merchantile Stores along the railroad from Fort Pierre to Philip.

Hap received his education in Philip and graduated from the Philip High School in 1916.  He attended South Dakota State College at Brookings and entered the R.O.T.C. program.  When World War I broke out, he joined the U.S. Army and served until after the war.

He worked as a lumberjack in the Rocky Mountains from Idaho to Oregon for several years.  In the early 1920s he returned to Philip where he worked as a mechanic for Ed Hendrick in the Black and Yellow Garage.  In March of 1928 he purchased the garage and he and his brother, Earl, formed a partnership known as the Dorothy Brothers Chevrolet Dealership.

When World War II started, Hap re-enlisted in the U.S. Army and served until receiving a medical discharge in June of 1943.

He was united in marriage to Julie McGrath on June 1, 1943, in Temple, Texas, and they made their home in Philip.

Hap and his brother continued to operate the dealership, the John Deere Implement, and the Auto Salvage until Earl's death in 1958 at which time Hap incorporated the dealership with other family members and sold the John Deere Implement and the Auto Salvage.  In 1960 the dealership burnt and he built what is now Dorothy Brothers.

Hap retired in the early 1970s after having served as director of the South Dakota Automobile Dealers Assocatiion and director of the First National Bank of Philip.

Hap also was a member of the Wheeler-Brooks American Leigon Post, and served as Fire Chief for the Philip Volunteer Fire Department.  He was very active with the Philip Chamber of Commerce and helped in the formation of the Hans P. Peterson Memorial Hospital and the Bad River Senior Citizens Center.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Julie, of Philip; two sons, Grant Dorothy of Phoenix, Arizona, and Charles Dorothy of Sioux Falls; seven grandchildren; two sisters, Helen West of Philip, and Betty Shields of Redfield, South Dakota; and a host of other relatives and firneds.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Marion and Earl, and two sisters, Goldie Kibling and Mary Carr.

Services
Tuesday, November 19, 1985
11:00 a.m.
First Presbyterian Church
Philip, South Dakota

Officiating
Reverend Russell Peirce

Music
JoAnne Stilwell - Organist
Peggy Eggers - Vocalist

Ushers
Willis Blom - Matt Schofield

Active Pallbearers
Steve Dorothy - Ross Dorothy
Mike West - Larry Pfeifer
Lee Schoniger - Howard McGrath

Interment with Military Honors
Masonic Cemetery
Philip, South Dakota

Service Details

Services
Tuesday, November 19, 1985
11:00 a.m.
First Presbyterian Church in Philip