Dorothy L. Johnson-Glaze

 Dorothy Lee (Miller) Johnson Glaze, 95 years old, lived at 449 Hancock Street, Springfield, Massachusetts.  She departed this life on October 21, 2021, surrounded by family and loved ones.

            Born on September 26, 1926, in Marvell, Arkansas, she was the beloved daughter of Bishop Edward D. Miller (AME) and Gertrude Miller.

            She grew up in Marvell and Little Rock, Arkansas, a lifelong member of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.  Her father would preach weekly in different towns in the region, and they would walk miles to get to their destinations.   Stories and song were told and sung along the way. 

            Dorothy would graduate from Shorter College in North Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1949 with a major in Elementary Education.  Dorothy always felt that surest way to success in this country was through education, and she set a good example for all of her children.  Upon graduation and a short stay in Holdenville, Oklahoma, she would marry Calvin Walker and move to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1950; setting up home and house for her new family.  Although she never taught in the Springfield Public School System due to systemic issues within the institutions, she was employed by the School Department.  Later, she became a fulltime mother and home-builder, a job she carried until her last day.  

            She was predeceased by her parents Edward and Gertrude;  two brothers, Edward and Herbert (Ruth);  two sisters, Bessie and Mary (Harry);  a lifelong friend, Cynthia “Auntie” Alleyne;  and six children, Mark Walker, Patricia Dudley (Robert), Elvin Walker, Extella Jones (Albert/pop’s), Wilfred O’Gilvie, and Wayne Johnson.

                        She is survived by four sisters, Leborah Anderson (Stokes), Erma Austin (Ray), Faith Oliver (George), and Millagros Rivas;  five children, Scott Walker (Maria), Winifred O’Gilvie-Guidry (Kenneth), Edward O’Gilvie (Elizabeth Wills), Grace Solomon (Bruce), and Paula O’Gilvie (Deborah);  19 surviving grandkids;  eleven great-grandkids;  one great-great-grandkid;  a legion of extended family, friends all over the U.S. and the world;  and a special caretaker Robert (Sully) Sullivan. 

            Her Legacy.  “a willingness to care for those who could not care for themselves.”  She never turned away a stranger and that stranger always became a friend.  

            The calling hour is 10-11 am, Wednesday, Nov. 3, at Harrell Funeral Home, 355 St. James Ave., Springfield, MA, followed by funeral services at 11.

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