Skillman, NJ — Family, friends, and the many people whose lives she touched mourn the loss of Dorothy Mills Highland. Dottie (as she was known to friends) passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by family on July 9th, 2020, following a 13-year-long battle with carcinoid cancer syndrome. She loved life, and she did so unapologetically, fully, and with unceasing curiosity and awe that made life’s many challenges and joys worth sharing.
Dottie was born on January 11th, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York. The first child of James and Sally Mills, she attended school in Elmont, NY, where she met her future husband, Joseph, at the age of 15. Together they attended Hofstra University and married shortly after their senior year, in June 1966. Dottie went on to receive a Master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota, and a JD degree from American University College of Law.
Over the years she taught elementary school, practiced law, raised three children, traveled the world, and in her later years worked as a docent at the Princeton University Art Museum, where she took a special interest in introducing children to the arts. Dottie met each season of life with kindness and generosity of spirit that made her welcome everywhere she went. She is dearly missed by the friends and family whose lives she brightened. She is survived by her husband Joseph, children Rebecca (Mark), Michael (Christine), Vladimir, her brother Donald, and three grandchildren.
It was Dottie’s request that any donations in her memory be made to UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees) or Princeton University Art Museum – specifically for programs bringing the arts to children.
Funeral services were held at the Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey.
Given the pandemic restrictions at the time of Dottie’s death, the family is now asking people who knew Dottie (especially those who did not have a chance to honor her at the time of her death) to offer words that might have been shared under different circumstances. The family plans to collect these remembrances in the form of a book as a way to memorialize and always remember Dottie.
If you knew Dottie, please feel free to send remembrances of any length to
rememberingdottie@gmail.com