Dorothy Mary Sparks-Fay

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dorothy Mary Sparks-Fay, who departed this life on May 23, 2025, in Hiawassee, Georgia, at the age of 102 1/2.  She was a loving sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.  

Sports were a big part of Dorothy’s life.  She spoke fondly of her childhood playing with neighborhood boys in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she and her sister, Rosella, were raised.  Later when she resided in Alexandria, Virginia, she became a huge fan of the Washington Redskins football and Bullets basketball teams.  She loved other games and played them well; she could beat anyone at gin rummy and often at billiards.  She had her own 14-pound bowling ball, played on a bowling team, and she carried her own specially-made pool cue with her when she played.  Photos from her younger years show her with a few of the many fish she caught while sport fishing in Florida.  She loved to say she met both of her husbands at bowling alleys, even suggesting her daughter try it.  Luckily, both of Dorothy’s husbands were wonderful dancers, because Dorothy was, too.

Dorothy enjoyed traveling and visited all but one continent in her life, living in Australia for a time with her second husband, Keith “Bud” Fay, who passed away many years ago and with whom she prepared a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner in Melbourne for friends.  She lived in Arizona for several years and always loved the desert. 

She had an active work life as well.  Once Dorothy’s children were in elementary school, she volunteered as the assistant to J.W. Marriott when he was the chairman of Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign.  After that, she became the office manager for an accounting firm at the Watergate and later at a law firm in Washington, DC.  She loved dabbling in the stock market.  Fiercely independent, Dorothy managed all of her own accounts until her vision required her to accept assistance.  

Dorothy is survived by her devoted younger sister, Rosella Doepker of Cincinnati, three loving children, Susan Butler of Hayesville, NC, Douglas Sparks of Silver Spring, MD, Karen Sparks of Bellevue, WA, 8 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.  Dorothy will be greatly missed.