VAN CAMP, Dorothy Jean

Spokesman-Review (Spokane WA) Sunday, February 13, 2011 Dorothy Jean Rourke Van Camp crossed into the loving grace of her Lord and Saviour on February 8, 2011 from complications of vascular disease. She was 93 years old. "Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held just ourselves, and immortality." Dorothy was born in Palmer, Massachustts on June 6, 1918 to Walter Russell and Alma Jean Rourke Lauder. Dorothy was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, but spent summers at her Grandmother Lizzie Rourke's home in Wales, Massachusetts. One of her fondest memories of childhood was picking wild blueberries with her Grandma. Dorothy attended college at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and graduated with a BS in Microbiology in 1938. To pay her way through college, Dorothy worked during the summers as a waitress at a kosher resort in the White Mountains of New York. Dorothy joined the WAC in the spring of 1942. While in the Army, she received her training as a Physical Therapist and earned the rank of Second Lieutenant. She was assigned to Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver Colorado after completing basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Dorothy met Raymond William Van Camp, a returning Japanese POW, at Fitzsimmons in 1946; they married that year, they would be happy together until Raymond's death in 2006. Together they raised four children: son Russell, daughters Elisabeth and April, and son Kelley. Dorothy led a life of service to her family, patients, and community. She started the Physical Therapy Department and was the only PT at Mercy Hospital in Durango, Colorado in 1949. When Raymond was accepted to Oklahoma State University to complete his Masters in Soil Science. Dorothy worked as a PT in the polio wards at Stillwater Hospital. She would describe that time as the most difficult time of her career. Mom was a life long learner and she returned to college in the 1960's to become a certified teacher at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She taught elementary school for many years in Farmington, New Mexico. Mom always urged her family to continue with college and supported all her children to finish their educations with her time, encouragement and money. She was very proud of her son Russell, a lawyer in Spokane, WA, her daughter Elisabeth, a hospital administrator in Las Vegas, NV, her daughter April, a geologist working all over the world, and her son Kelley, a Speech Therapist in Las Vegas, NV. Mom and Dad lived a life of travel and adventure. In 1965 they took their family and moved to Bangkok, Thailand where they lived for five years. They traveled to Europe several times to visit their daughter Elisabeth and their grandchildren. After retirement, Dorothy and Raymond spent winters in Black Canyon City, Arizona and summers in Bayfield, Colorado. Mom loved the cool summers of Colorado and the warm winters of Arizona. Mom enjoyed a good game of bridge (she was a very good player), brunch with champagne, a mystery and Star Trek. She was a lifelong member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sarah Platt Decker Chapter. She was always ready to listen and to offer kind and tender advice. Raymond and Dorothy moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to be close to their children in early 2001. Dorothy is survived by her eldest son W Russell Van Camp and wife Teri of Spokane, WA, daughter Elisabeth Van Camp, daughter April Van Camp-Gil and husband Manuel, son Kelley Van Camp and wife Karen, all of Las Vegas, NV, ten grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and her sisters-in-law, Adeline Van Camp-Becay of Durango, CO and Jean Van Camp-Balderston of Montrose, CO. The Van Camp family wishes to thank JoJo and Josefina for their kindness, respect, and devotion to our beloved mother. We could not have done this without you. We also wish to thank the St Rose Hospice angels of mercy and patience; Donna, Michael and Ellie, our Mom's spiritual guide, Sister Janet. Finally to Karen Koepsell; we thank you so much for all you did for Mom and for us. You will be fondly remembered in our hearts. "For Angels walk among us. This I know to be true. They touch us, and care for us, and are the Vanguard of God's love." Angels, every one. Dorothy Jean Van Camp; Healer, Soldier, Teacher, Friend. They walk together now along the shining river. Soft mountain rain falls and the pines whisper gentle, sweet songs of home. Her passing leaves a heartache that cannot be healed; her love leaves a memory that will not fade.