Dorothy Lee Page (nee Willis), 97, of Paducah, passed away peacefully on October 26, 2025, closing the end of an era for the Western Kentucky town where she was among the last of the ‘Greatest Generation.’

Dorothy was born at her family’s Mayfield home on August 6, 1928. Blue and appearing to be lifeless, the doctor had wrapped her in a blanket when her grandmother intervened, rubbing whiskey on her lips. With a mischievous smile, Dorothy would often recount the story, suggesting that it was the only time she had whiskey.

A child of the Great Depression, the Willis family moved to Michigan, where her father was able to get work in a Ford factory. Those tough years ingrained in Dorothy a work ethic that endured well into her 80s. The daughter of a preacher, her childhood also laid the

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