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Sr. Betty Dorr, O.P.

Sr. Betty Dorr, O.P. (Elizabeth Gardiner Dorr) died peacefully on Jan. 2, at Sansbury Care Center in St. Catharine, Kentucky, where she had been lovingly attended by the Dominican Sisters of Peace during her senior years of failing health.

Sr. Betty was born on Nov. 3, 1930, in Miami, Florida. She entered the novitiate of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan in 1946 and there received her bachelor of arts in Latin at Siena Heights College. While on mission in Santo Domingo, she was later awarded a licentiate degree in philosophy from the Universidad de Santo Tomas de Aquino.

In 1958, having discerned a call to a more contemplative way of life, Sr. Betty transferred to the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Buffalo, New York where she made profession of solemn vows in 1960. In 1967, responding to a need at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception, she volunteered to move to Albany in order to offer assistance to the community. In the end, the monastery was deemed to be not viable and had to be suppressed.

In 1970 Sr. Betty asked to be accepted at the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace in North Guilford, Connecticut. Multi-talented, she served this community in various capacities, including liturgy coordinator and guest mistress. During the 1980s, still attempting to discern God’s will for her, Sr. Betty experimented with life in a hermitage at several different locations. With permission from Rome, she finally settled as a hermit in Kentucky, obtained certification as a hospital chaplain, and thus was able to support herself as a solitary religious.

Sr. Betty, an only child, was predeceased by her parents, August James Dorr and Theney Gladys Hastings.

Calling hours were on Jan. 6, at the Our Lady of Grace Chapel, 11 Race Hill Rd., North Guilford. The Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Jan. 7 in the chapel of Our Lady of Grace, North Guilford, followed by interment in the monastery cemetery. Funeral arrangements are being made by the Guilford Funeral Home. Memorial donations may be sent to the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace, 11 Race Hill Rd., North Guilford. CT 06437-1099; https://www.dominicannuns.org/ To share a memory or leave condolences, visit www.guilfordfuneralhome.com.