Dorothea Frona (Leland) Huff, 102, a West Seattle resident since 2005, died peacefully June 27, 2018 after a short decline. Dorothea was a Church secretary and Homemaker, mother of 4, and gardener. Long time member of Disciples of Christ congregations, she became a member of the Baha’i Faith in 1991 after retiring from her work as a secretary and returning to live near her son Donald in Macedonia, Ohio. She and her 4 siblings were all born in farm houses in north eastern Kansas outside of Atchison. She graduated from Effingham High School and attended Kansas State in Manhattan, graduating with a BS in Home Economics. Dorothea was the widow of Vearl N. Huff, born in Gig Harbor, WA, January 21, 1917, whom she met at Kansas State where he majored in Electrical Engineering. His career spanned the advent of space exploration as a rocket propulsion engineer with NACA (and subsequently NASA), having helped design and build the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio (later renamed the NASA Glenn Research Center). He retired from NASA headquarters in Washington, DC and passed away in 1981. Dorothea was the second child of 5 children of Walter and Daisy Leland. Her oldest brother Walter John, younger brother Edward, and youngest sister Hope having already passed, she is survived by a younger sister Alice Cooper, who has lived all her adult life on a farm in St John, Kansas, and is now resident at a Kenwood Plaza Assisted Living facility in town there. Dorothea and Vearl had four children, all still living: Mary (Ron) Gall of Poughkeepsie, NY, David (Shirley) of Lanham, MD, Donald (Diane) of West Seattle, WA, and Edward (Ellen) of Johnstown, PA. There are three grandchildren Julie Strauss (Mary’s daughter), Amber Huff and Caleb Huff (Donald’s daughter and son). Funeral and Interment services will be held Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at 12:00 noon at Rosedale Cemetery, Rosedale, WA. Remembrances may be made to the charity of your choice. Arrangements by Haven of Rest, Gig Harbor.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Dorothea Frona Huff February 22 1916 June 27 2018 (age 102). Gig Harbor Cremations
Death notice for the town of: Gig Harbor, state: Washington