Dorothy Baskin

Dorothy #8220;Dottie#8221; Ralston Fox Baskin, 86, of Livingston, Montana passed away at home on June 2, 2011 in her son#8217;s arms. She was born September 12, 1924 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Ivan Luther #8220;Pete#8221; and Sarah (Ralston) Fox at home with her great grandmother assisting the doctor. Her father had walked three miles to get a street car to find the doctor, who then arrived in his Model T Ford. An only child, Dottie fondly remembered her childhood on her grandparents#8217; dairy farm in an idyllic rural location near Harrisburg, where fifty cows were manually milked each day. During her high school years at Susquehanna High School, she met and fell in love with Alfred #8220;Fred#8221; Calder Baskin. Upon first meeting her, Fred declared he would marry Dottie, which he did on March 23, 1946 after returning from World War II military service. Dottie worked at Bell Telephone and later at the family business, Baskin Tire Sales Inc, in Harrisburg while raising two active sons. They moved to their dream house in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1967. The family enjoyed leisure time in Bermuda and at their Laurel Lake cabin in Pennsylvania as well as working on their rental properties in New Jersey. Dottie#8217;s trademarks were a deep tan, a fast convertible, Miss Piggy, wolves, delicious cooking, and a lovely singing voice which delighted family and friends at holidays and other gatherings. Preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Dottie moved to Paradise Valley in 1989 to live in a house built by her sons with marvelous views of the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountain Range. She enjoyed her neighbors in their Loch Leven subdivision and attended the Episcopal Churches of the Upper Yellowstone, as faith was an ever-abiding component of her life. Reading and cooking were her passions as evidenced by her Livingston-Park County Public Library usage and the ever-present television cooking channel. She was the ideal mother, who felt the sun rose and set in her sons and demonstrated that accordingly to the admiration of her sons#8217; friends. Dottie is survived by her son Stephen Alan and his wife Cynde Georgen of Sheridan, Wyoming; her son George David and his wife, Alice Meister, of Bozeman, Montana; and grandson Stephen Witcoski and great granddaughter Addie Witcoski of Pennsylvania. She had a special connection with her Pennsylvania cousins Suzie Cornell and Kathy Kreider, who visited her regularly. The family would like to extend special thanks to Greg and Paula Guay, Bob and Jason Menagh, and Patti Pleshar as well as to the Livingston HospiceCare givers, especially Linda Roberts. At Dottie#8217;s request cremation has taken place. A memorial service celebrating her life will be held on Saturday, June 11 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Andrew#8217;s Episcopal Church in Livingston with a reception immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a local animal shelter in honor of Dottie#8217;s cats Charlie and Annie and/or to a local library and/or to a local hospice.