With great sadness, Dorothy’s family announces the passing of their beloved mother, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother. The second oldest of seven children, Dorothy is survived by her siblings, Walter, Jim, Don, and Loretta and was predeceased by her parents, Dudley and Anah (Jackson) Norbury; brother, George and sister Roberta.
Wavy dark hair, big blue eyes, and a porcelain face, ensured the beautiful Dorothy was crowned Miss Sidney at age 17. This beauty queen style and persona parlayed into a life filled with abundance and joy.
Dorothy married Jack Zabel, the love of her life, on April 10, 1948 and had two children, David (Maureen) and Linda Long (Charles). The consummate housewife, Dorothy happily filled her days with taking care of the household and everyone in it. She and Jack showed their children the importance of putting family first, the value of hard work, the comfort of warm sunny destinations, the passion of sport and physical activity and the beauty of a garden.
Dorothy was an active member of Uplands Golf Club for over 55 years and also enjoyed travelling to many parts of the world with her husband, Jack.
She was also a devoted Grandma to her 4 grandchildren: Christina, Melanie, Andrew and Derek, spoiling them with love, which continued to reinforce the importance of family. There was never a shortage of quality time with Grandma. Dorothy also had 6 great-grandchildren who held a special place in her heart: Heather, Brandon, Alex, Victoria, Parker and Mae.
Dorothy was the perfect picture of elegance and loved every bit of luxury that life had to offer. For her, luxury could be found in the simplest of things: a clean and well organized home, hummingbirds at her feeder and the fragrant flowers she planted in her garden every year.
The family would like to thank Dorothy’s brother, Don, who was her rock throughout her courageous battle, Sidney All Care and its staff and Saanich Peninsula Hospital for her palliative care, particularly RNs Charlene and Kelly.
There will be no service by request.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Dorothy’s memory can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, or to a charity of one’s choice.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
-
Marlene Vickers
-
Elaine Lambert I wanted to express my heartfelt condolences to Dorthy’s family. There’s such a sense of helplessness when someone we love dies. I’d like to share some scriptural thoughts that really helps me. Prayer is so valuable at this time, but it’s not that prayer simply makes us feel better. 2 Cor. 4:7 says that God can give us, “… power beyond what is normal “, to go from one day to the next. This does not mean that we no longer cry or that we forget, but it means we recover. The reason we recover is because of our hope. Jesus Christ talked about our hope in John 5:28, “… all those in the memorial tomb will hear his voice and come out “. Jesus was referring to the resurrection; this is our hope that helps us recover and gives us power to go on. 2 Cor. 1:3 describes our Creator as, “… the God of all comfort “. One way that God comforts us is by moving people who care about us to give us words of encouragement that we need to hear. May the God of comfort (Ps. 83:18)
-
Maureen Songhurst Dorothy was a regular visitor to The Bay and we always took a moment to chat about family and what was happening in her life. She loved her visits with Mo and Dave down south and kept me up to date on all their activities. She was a lovely lady and will be remembered fondly.
-
Bryan Carbery Great memories of Mr & Mrs Zabel over the past 55+ years & of the great times our parents had together! Will miss that classy lady.
-
Terri Brend Elston Had the privilege of knowing & golfing with Dorothy. A most beautiful person inside & out. My condolences to all her family.
My deepest sympathies to the family. She was a great lady and good friend….lots of fun times. She will be missed.