Dorothy W. Phillips, nee Dorothy Marie Wallace, born February 20, 1925, passed away Monday, July 27th, 2020. Her ashes will be laid to rest beside her mother and grandparents at Mobile Memorial Gardens Cemetery. A celebration of her life will take place at a future time. Dorothy is survived by two remaining daughters, Olivia Rupprecht of Fox Lake, Wisconsin, and Rachel Wallace of Pensacola, Florida, and their spouses Scott Rupprecht and Daniel Wallace. Her eldest daughter Sharon Helton passed away in 2004. Great care was given to Dorothy in her later years by her granddaughters Machelle Johnson and Kimberly Dugan, with support from their spouses Sean and Terry, respectively, as well as great grandchildren Elizabeth, Rachel, Cort, Nichole, Brad, and Gracie. While Dorothy played a significant role in all of these lives, she would also want special recognition given to her many other grandchildren near and far who she dearly treasured. The daughter of Bernice Leavins and Samuel Wallace, and the sister of Althea Johnson and Barbara McGuire, Dorothy was raised in Gulf Shores, Fairhope, and Mobile. While WW2 took her to California and she resided elsewhere along the way, she lived most of her days in the South, with Mobile, Alabama being her principal home. She was married to Keith McLeod McInnis of Daphne, Alabama for 33 years. With Dorothy in attendance, five generations celebrated holidays and birthdays together where her 24-Hour Salad was only eclipsed by her wonderful laugh. She was the family matriarch whose loss is mourned by many. From her remaining Wallace siblings at Little Lagoon—L.D., Betty Jean, Meme, Doug, Johnny—to her many surviving family members across Baldwin County and flung from coast-to-coast, she is deeply missed. Dorothy had four great loves. She was a devoted gardener with a wealth of flower care knowledge. And how she loved to dance! Just the sound of a good song set her fingers to snapping and her toes to tapping. She often spoke of her youth in Fairhope dancing at the "casina" with her friends. Commitment to family was everything to Dorothy, and she could be counted on to help with a new baby or tend to a sick loved one. Helping others was her life's work. Last, Dorothy had a deep and abiding love for her Lord and always kept a Bible close. Her family rests easy in the knowledge of God's everlasting love for Dorothy and that she is now in His arms.
Upon hearing a traditional, modified waltz, Dorothy recently replied, "Oh, how beautiful!"
Dance your way home, at the end of the day.
Dance your way home, chase the shadows away.
Smile every mile, for wherever you roam,
It will lighten your load,
It will brighten your road,
If you dance your way home.
