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Dorothy Bensch Doyle

December 20, 1924 — April 7, 2016

Dorothy Bensch Doyle passed away Thursday April 7, 2016 in Carbondale Colorado. Dorothy was born in Buffalo, New York on December 20, 1924. She lost her mother at an early age; her father died suddenly in April 1944. Less than two months later, her only sibling, a brother, was killed in France during the D-Day invasion.

During the war, in her second year of nursing school, Dorothy contracted tuberculosis. She spent the next five years in a TB hospital.

After recovery, Dorothy attended the Rochester Institute of Technology from 1949 to 1953 receiving a degree in Art and Design. She worked first in Buffalo, N.Y. in newspaper advertising as an illustrator and then as a technical illustrator for Bell Aircraft Corporation until her marriage to John H. Doyle.

Dorothy met John Howard Doyle, an Air National Guard pilot, WWII veteran, falconer, skier, and University of Buffalo graduate, in 1954. They married in 1955 and promptly moved to Denver, Colorado and Ms. Doyle again worked as a technical illustrator for Martin Marietta in the aerospace program.

They moved to Georgetown in 1958 to be closer to skiing and the mountains. John and Dorothy refurbished the historic and deteriorating Cushman Block, an 1880’s brick-and-mortar building with an opera house on the third floor, into a Victorian gem. The two lower floors were occupied by a hotel and a restaurant named the Silver Queen, which is now the Bank of Georgetown. Three of their four children were born in Denver; Kim, Randall, and John while Patricia was born at home in Georgetown. Dorothy lost her husband John, to cancer in 1966. After running the Silver Queen solo for several years, she sold it and relocated the family to Colorado Springs. Four years later, they moved to Del Norte, Colorado where Kim graduated from high school. From there, the family moved to southern Idaho, where Randall and John spent their high school years.


In 1980, Dorothy returned to Colorado, settling in the Roaring Fork Valley where daughter Kim now lived. Daughter Patricia attended Aspen High School. While in Aspen, Dorothy worked in graphic design and at the First National Bank, Aspen Leaf Jewelers, The Squash Blossom, and the Snowmass Club.

The early 90’s found Dorothy moving to Salt Lake City to be closer to Randall and his three daughters. She returned for the last time in 2003, calling Carbondale her home. Dorothy passed her love of art, music, good food, love of books, and curiosity on to her children.

Dorothy is survived by her children. Daughters Kim Doyle Wille of El Jebel, Colorado and Patricia Doyle (Adam Stopeck) of Sebastopol, California, sons William Randall Doyle (Sonia) of Salt Lake City, Utah and John Kerry Doyle (Claude Salter) of Aspen, Colorado.

Grandchildren: Cody, Erin, Mikaela, Demitri, Sophia, Finnlay, Avital and Sylvan. Great-grandchildren: Killian and Emma.

A memorial will be held at Carbondale Community United Methodist Church; date to be announced.