Dorothy Hamblin Bitters

Dorothy Hamblin Bitters, beloved mother and grandmother returned to her heavenly home on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Dorothy was born on March 18, 1930, to Claudius and Ora Hamblin in Lyman Wyoming. She grew up on a farm there with her two older brothers and cousins nearby. When she was a teenager, her family relocated to Brigham City, Utah and she graduated from Box Elder High School in 1948 where she played the clarinet in the marching band. 

Dorothy married Robert Dial from Willard in 1949 in the Logan Temple. Together they had two children, Gary and Sandra, then divorced several years later. On May 17, 1958, she married Ray Bitters from Providence, and they had one child, Tammie. They made their home in Kaysville Utah. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in February 1969. Dorothy worked for many years as an aide for the resource program at Burton Elementary in Kaysville. She loved the children there and helped many of them with their education. 

Dorothy lost both of her parents at a tender young age, but from her mother she learned many things, including sewing and canning - skills she used to bless the lives of her family and friends. She loved to play the piano and organ and enjoyed painting ceramics. She was drawn to the mountains and the outdoors, and with Ray she spent a lot of time camping and fishing. Together they spent five entire summers building a cabin in the Idaho wilderness far from any towns and without any electricity. She labored tirelessly running plumbing lines, pounding nails, painting, and cutting down trees to use for the beams. This cabin still stands today and is a symbol of her legacy of hard work and tenacity. In addition to travelling in the US, in later years she also was able to travel to many countries abroad, including her lifelong dream of going to China. 

She was a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and enjoyed many lifelong friendships there. She was also a valiant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served in many various callings throughout her life, including as a Relief Society President. She worked many years as a temple worker in the Bountiful Temple after it opened in 1995. She was strong and true to her religious beliefs but also kind and accepting of friends and family members who believed or worshipped differently. 

Dorothy’s posterity consists of her son Gary Bitters, whose daughters are Michelle Connor and Stephanie Karim, Sandra Tsushima and her daughter Nicole Tsushima, and Tammie Murri (Marv) and their children, Lauren Radovanovic (Srdjan), Courtney Allen (Kole), Benjamin Murri and Zachary Murri (engaged to Sariah Gamez), along with 4 great grandchildren and one more coming very soon. Dorothy is preceded in death by her husband Ray, her son Gary and his first wife Jan Magdaleno who remained a close part of our family, Dorothy’s parents, brothers Dan and Paul Hamblin, her dear friend/sister Arlene Rasmussen, Arlene’s son Evan Waite, and many others. 

The family would like to thank the staff at The Peaks Memory Care in Clinton and Simbii Hospice for their tender care with Dorothy over the past year. 

Funeral services will be held Friday, August 16, 2024, at Russon Mortuary, 1941 North Main Street, Farmington Utah at 11:00 a.m. A viewing will be held Thursday August 15 from 6:00-7:30 p.m., and again Friday August 16 from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Interment will be at the Kaysville City Cemetery following the services. The funeral service will be live streamed on the Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page, and on this obituary page. It will appear 10-15 minutes prior to the service.