Dorothy Sweat passed in her sleep on Saturday July 13,2013.
Our Aunt Dorothy was born in West Shiloh, Tennessee on March 13, 1929 to her parents, John Elzie and Hettie Sweat.
Dorothy was born blind but not handicapped, as she refused to let this inconvenience define her life. She entered Tennessee school for the blind at the age of 18 and learned how to read and write along with her 6 year old classmates. After graduation she was trained and became the first blind switchboard operator at Western State Hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee, where she amazed everyone for the next 34 years until she retired, by keeping up with all the incoming lines and around 100 internal extensions, from memory. We remember her knowing our names by feeling of our faces. We remember her upbeat, positive outlook on life. We remember her dedication to her family, the West Shiloh Baptist Church, and to God.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her brothers, Buster, Floyd Ben, Raymond and Ray, along with her big sister, Georgia Mae Hurst; nephews Johnny, Randy and Brad Sweat, and her niece, Deborah Ann Hurst.
She is survived by 10 nieces and 11 nephews and numerous great nephews and nieces, all of whom know, and have learned from Aunt Dorothy that any difficulty in life can be overcome with persistence and a positive outlook. Thank you Aunt Dorothy! We will all miss your life.