Dorothy Bakeman Major passed away Dec. 31, 2003, at Whidbey General Hospital after a short illness.

Born in Seattle on Sept. 5, 1918, Mrs. Major was the only child of Ann and Ben Swanson. She would fondly recall her years growing up in Wallingford, with such by-gone delights as taking the streetcar downtown with her mother. She graduated from Lincoln High School early and went directly to the University of Washington, joining the sorority house of Gamma Phi Beta. In 1939 she married Wendell Broyles, a marriage that lasted only a few years. She became a working woman during the war years, writing radio shows for KIRO Radio and then becoming director of the radio department of a local advertising agency, directing the on-air promotion of rural electrification for Puget Power.

She met Charles Theodore “Ted” Bakeman through this work and they were married in 1947. This began her summers on Whidbey Island. The family lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 10 years before returning to the northwest with the influx of other Boeing recruits in the 1950s, settling in Bellevue. Dorothy was an active member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church of Medina.

Mrs. Major often declared that the best job she ever had was being a wife and mother. She dedicated her child rearing years to her children, and her golf game. After Ted’s retirement, which coincided with the family’s move to Whidbey Island in 1969, she worked in real estate. She treasured the friends she made via in real estate.

She was an active member Useless Bay Golf and CC. She was a board member, and an avid golfer at Useless Bay. She was also a dedicated parishioner of St. Augustine’s in the Woods, Episcopal Church, in Freeland.

Her retirement was full of golf, duplicate bridge, Mariner mania and friends. Many marveled at her golfing while legally blind. When her sight worsened, she dedicated herself to duplicate bridge. She and her third husband, Dick Major continued to take first place up through the last month of her life.

She is survived by her daughter Roberta Reykdal of Everett and her husband, Fred; son Jeffrey Bakeman of Langley and his wife, Mary; daughter Nina Milligan of Mercer Island and her husband, Rob; and her recent companion Richard “Dick” Mills. Her grandchildren are Fred Reykdal Jr., Amanda Reykdal, Ann Marie Bakeman and Mary Frances Bakeman.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 36 years, Charles Theodore “Ted” Bakeman, her oldest son Guy Bakeman, and William Major, her third husband.

A memorial reception will be held at Useless Bay Golf and Country Club at noon on Friday. All are invited to attend.