Dorothy May "Dotty" Brimhall

Dorothy May Brimhall “Dotty” February 20, 1940 – January 22, 2017 Dorothy May Brimhall “Dotty”, of Sundown Girls Ranch near Aripine, Arizona, 76, passed away on January 22, 2017 in Clay Springs, Navajo County, Arizona. The public viewing and visitation will be at 9:00 AM, one hour before the funeral services, which will begin 10:00 AM, January 28, 2017 at the Clay Springs Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5150 Highway 260 in Clay Springs, Arizona. The concluding service will immediately follow at the Clay Springs Cemetery.  Dotty was born on a Tuesday, February 20, 1940 in Miami, Gila County, Arizona to the late Alma Edwin and Dorothy (Price) Bigler. She is the oldest of nine children. Her family ran the Sundown Ranch near Aripine, Arizona from 1944 to about 1962, which was attended by many youth, mostly from the New York and Chicago areas. She was talented in sewing and made most of her own clothes and created costumes for productions she and her family were involved in. Dotty grew up in Heber Arizona and graduated from Snowflake High School. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education at Northern Arizona University. She has taught school on the Elementary and High School levels in many schools in the White Mountain’s of Arizona, such as; Blue Ridge, Clay Springs, Concho, St. Johns, Show Low, Snowflake, and Whiteriver as well as in Ash Fork, Arizona. She was creative in her teaching methods and tried to help each of her students know that they were precious, important and loved just like her own children. She helped produce and direct Plays and Road Shows for her school classes and also with her church members.  She had “sticktoitivity” in everything she did. She helped compile and edit a history of the Clay Springs community and helped others to write their personal histories for posterity sake. She has compiled many stories from her own life and that of her family.  She enjoyed music and played the piano with her children for performances and sang in the church choir. She played in the marching band at NAU which is where she met Allan Fredric Brimhall (deceased). They were married on August 6, 1963 and had 5 children, but have since divorced. She has been a lifetime member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has served in various positions of responsibilities including the Boy Scouts of America, helping boys achieve the rank of Eagle. She loved her country deeply and encouraged others to respect and honor the freedom that many have paid dearly for. She shared her testimony of her Savior, Jesus Christ, by how she treated others. She loved people and always found ways to lift them up if they were down.  Dotty's family consists of her children: David Allan Brimhall and John McGregor of Phoenix Arizona, William Craig and Katherine Elizabeth (Jansky) Brimhall of New Braunfels Texas, Michelle (Brimhall) and Raymond Dean Brewer of Clay Springs Arizona, Brian Andrew and Sandi Lyne (Cottam) Brimhall of Lakeside Arizona, Mars Brimhall and Audrey Lenorah Palmer of Flagstaff Arizona; her siblings: Edwin Ray and Catherine “Cathy” (Green) Bigler of Mesa Arizona, Charles and Kathleen (Pratt) Bigler of Grassy Plains BC Canada, Janet (Bigler) and 1-Don Grant Jackson (deceased) 2-John Ramsey Raasveld (deceased) of Clay Springs Arizona, Fred Lynn and Evette Ellen (Cox) Bigler of Grassy Plains BC Canada, Alma Jean “Jeannie” (Bigler-deceased) and Danny Lynn Owens of Show Low Arizona, William “Bill” Dale Bigler, Al LaVar and Raedine Louise (Brown) Bigler of Grassy Plains BC Canada, David Earl and Pamila (Majors) Bigler of Langley BC Canada; 23 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.  She was often heard to quote Heber J. Grant, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier. Not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to perform it increases.”