Dorothy May Newell was born July 3, 1927, in Opheim, MT to Cloyd Stahl and Beatrice Stahl nee Larson. She passed away peacefully December 28, 2024, in Hamilton, MT at the age of 97.
Dorothy was joined by her sister and lifelong best friend, Marilyn in December of 1934. The family packed up and moved across the state to Hamilton in the early 1940s. Dorothy originally felt claustrophobic going from the open plains of Eastern Montana to mountains of the western side of the state, but she came to love Bitterroot Valley. It was where she raised her family. Her daughters Barbara and Connie, and her son David.
Dorothy was a long-time member of the First Presbyterian Church. She loved sewing, gardening, and baking, especially cookies. This earned her the nickname of the “Cookie Lady.” She was the first to volunteer to help in the community. She spent years organizing the fundraising dessert reception for the Hamilton High School Cultural Exchange Club, served coffee at the church for countless funerals and other events. She left this world a better place, because she was here.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her daughter, Barbara Large’, and her brother-in-law, Walter Warren.
She is survived by her daughter Connie Olson (Bob), son David Newell, grandchildren, Blaine Olson, Amber Bell (Matthew), Kristi Newell-Vieth, and Brooke Newell, sister Marilyn Warren, nieces Tracy Warren and Kelly Jones (Kent), six great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. As well as many in the community who thought of her as family.
A memorial service will be held at Daly-Leach Chapel in Hamilton on Saturday, January 11, at 11 a.m. followed by a cookie and coffee reception in honor of the Cookie Lady. A private interment will take place this spring at Riverview Cemetery. Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com