Dorothy Dyer Vanek was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 2, 1926, and grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri. A graduate of Webster Groves High School and Central Airlines School in Kansas City, she later attended Ward Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, before transferring to Washington University in St. Louis to study architecture, art, and music. Dorothy worked as a dental assistant and then as an airline hostess for Capital Airlines in Chicago. She married Robert Vanek in 1950, and together, they lived in various cities across the United States and abroad, including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Guam, San Francisco, and Morocco before making Tucson their retirement home.
Throughout her life, Dorothy was deeply committed to philanthropy, education, and the arts, and she inspired countless others through her service and generosity. She was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, a life member of Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority, and a member of several organizations, including the Pan American World Airlines Retirees Association, Missouri Historical Society, and the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Dorothy was a major benefactor of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Southern Arizona Symphony, Interfaith Community Services, College of the Ozarks, Pan American World Airlines Foundation, Cottey College, and the American Red Cross. Her philanthropic work has had a profound impact on the cultural landscape of Tucson and beyond.
Dorothy’s legacy lives on through the arts, and she played a pivotal role in the development of programs that have enriched the Tucson community. She supported the creation of new artistic programs while also helping existing organizations to grow and flourish.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Vanek, brother John Dyer, and daughters Deborah Butler and Nancy Vanek. She is survived by her partner, Robert Carroll, grandsons Brian Butler (Jennifer) and Michael Considine (Megan), granddaughter Jennifer Bias (Randall), and five great-grandchildren, all of Dallas, Texas, as well as her niece, Becky Kaiser of Orlando, Florida.
A celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held at a future date. A private burial will take place in St. Louis, Missouri.
Memorial gifts may be made to Interfaith Community Services, to True Concord, designated for the Dorothy Dyer Vanek Fund for Excellence, or to a charity of your choice.
For more about Dorothy’s contributions to the arts, you can read her remembrance in True Concord’s Obituary here and the True Concord Remembrance here.
As we’ve previously covered, Dorothy Dyer Vanek’s life and legacy were also highlighted in the article Oro Valley Resident Lives Life Through Music, Support of the Arts on Oro Valley Voice. Her contributions to the Tucson arts scene have made a lasting impact on the entire community.