Dorothy Ann Bump

Dorothy Ann Bump, 84, went to Heaven on October 10, 2012 from the Odd Fellows Home in Walla Walla, Washington, after short bout of pneumonia and a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dorothy was born on November 8, 1927 on the family farm in Waverly, Kansas to Millard DeJarnette and Stella Wood DeJarnette, good parents who instilled in her strong moral values and a love of God during one of the most difficult times in American history, the Great Depression. Although money was difficult to earn, her father managed to buy her a bummer lamb each year and she bottle-fed it throughout the summer months so she could sell it in the fall to buy her school clothes. Her mother helped support the family by raising and selling canaries. Even during the Depression, a singing canary sold for $5, a small fortune in those days. Those experiences taught her to nurture and love the animals in her life.

After high school graduation in Waverly, Kansas, Dorothy earned a teaching certificate and taught school until she married John Bump in Agricola, Kansas, on March 20, 1947. Later, after she became a mother, she taught all of her children to read at very early ages.

As newlyweds, John and Dorothy lived in Waverly, Sedan and then Olathe, Kansas. In 1964, the Bump family loaded their new Ford station wagon with their things, including the family dog, and traded Kansas for Oregon, visiting Disney-land and the Pacific Ocean on the journey. During their many moves they lived in the following Oregon towns: Springfield, Milton-Freewater, Astoria, Hood River, and Umapine before they settled down for good in Walla Walla, Washington in 1974.

Dorothy worked as a ward secretary at St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington for more than 10 years. She loved her work and took great pride in working in the brand-new hospital.

Dorothy was a gifted seamstress – excelling in the art of quilt-making and her family, friends and co-workers profited greatly from the beautiful colorful quilts she presented to them. Her favorite recipients of these gifts were babies – anybody’s babies - and long after her memory and speech had dimmed, she would still talk about how much she loved those babies.

Always an animal lover, Dorothy enjoyed walking her dogs every day and adopting cats from the Humane Society. While a resident at Pioneer House, her favorite activity was feeding the ducks and squirrels at Pioneer Park. Those animals helped her weather the early agony of Alzheimer ’s disease. She spent many hours at the park each day watching the squirrels and wandering the grounds.

Dorothy is survived by her brother, Bryce DeJarnette, of Waverly, Kansas; two sons and their wives, Robert and Katie Bump of Dillon, Montana and Bruce and Kaye Bump of Walla Walla; her daughter Marilyn Kelly and her husband, Douglas Kelly, of Creswell, Oregon; and her youngest daughter, Patricia Gleason, of Waitsburg, Washington. She has 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, John, her youngest son, Bradley Bump, her son-in-law Gale Gleason, her only sister, Amy Baldwin, and 4 of her brothers - Warren, Noel, Gale, and Reed DeJarnette.

Viewing & visitation will be held on Monday, October 15, 2012 from 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM at the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder, Walla Walla, WA. Funeral Services for Dorothy will be held at Herring Groseclose Funeral Home on Monday, October 15, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Steve Morris officiating. A brief burial service will be at Mountain View Cemetery following the funeral. Memorial contributions may be made to the Pioneer Park Aviary or the Blue Mountain Humane Society through the funeral home.