Dorothy C. Fullam of Princeton, NJ, and West Brookfield, MA, passed away on June 6 at the age of 92. She was a model of kindness to all she met and was devoted to family and the organizations she supported to persevere the best of the past, make land available for public enjoyment and promoting first generation women attending colleges.
She was born on May 9, 1933 to Dorothy Dane and Harold C. Cochran in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, where her family lived for generations. She attended Warren High School in Warren MA; Pine Manor Junior College in Brookline, MA; and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. She worked at Guaranty Bank of Worcester after college.
In 1968 Dorothy (known as Dotty to everyone) married Walter F. Fullam, whose family also came from West Brookfield. They made their home in Princeton but continued to spend summers in West Brookfield. After his death in 2000, she continued to return to her family home each summer in Massachusetts.
She embraced all things Princeton including: the Historical Society of Princeton, McCarter Theatre, D&R Greenway, Nassau Presbyterian Church, the Nassau Club, Morven, Drumthwacket, and the Woman’s College Club, an organization dedicated to financially supporting young women in college. Through her work with the family, the Cedar Ridge Preserve was established in Hopewell, NJ.
Dotty also kept and grew all her connections to West Brookfield. She was a lifetime member of the First Congregational Church and a member of Old Sturbridge Village for over 70 years, where four generations of her family have worked. She was a member of the Village Council of Ambassadors. This is a job she took seriously and with enthusiasm. She always engaged anyone she met in a discussion about the Village and an invitation to visit. She was also a founding member of the Jedediah Foster Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in West Brookfield. Her support for Lady Doak College, in Maduri, India, stemmed from her connection to Reverend Joseph Gaylord, whose daughter Helen co-founded the college for women in 1948.
Dotty attended decades of Adams Family Reunion Picnics at the Rock House in West Brookfield. As a long-term member of the Trustees of the Reservation, she and Walter established the Rock House Preserve. In addition, she continued to support the East Quabbin Land Trust, which recently established the Little Marshy Meadow pocket park in West Brookfield.
Preceded in death by her husband and stepson, Caleb, she is survived by her stepson W. Ross Fullam and his wife Wendy and stepson Francis A. Fullam and his wife Patricia, as well as five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her cousin, Ralph Cochran, and his family.
She left a legacy of kindness to all. She demonstrated this every day and was loved by many for her generous and thoughtful good nature. She kept track and acknowledged the birthdays of hundreds of people. And every kindness to her was acknowledged with a swift and heartfelt thank you note. Family was paramount to her and she remained the center of activities and gatherings. She was a blessing to all who knew her and will be sorely missed.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: The Women’s College Club of Princeton, PO Box 3181, Princeton, NJ 08540. The East Quabbin Land Trust (P.O. Box 5, Hardwick, MA 01037), designated to the Little Marshy Meadow.
