Dorothy Marion Bothell devoted her life to her family, the family business and civic duty.
And now Auburn’s first female councilmember, who died in August at 101, will lead the way again, as the first local woman to have a park named in her honor.
The Auburn City Council on Monday approved naming the new park, located at the northwest corner of Lakeland Hills Way and Evergreen Southeast, Dorothy Bothell Park, after the City and the Lakeland Hills Homeowner’s Association invited people on their respective Web sites to suggest names. The Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation Board sifted through the suggestions and recommended the city choose Bothell’s.
“Dorothy was a very intelligent and hard-working lady,” said Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis. “She was a role model for generations of young women in Auburn and a leader in her community.”
Born in California in 1907, Bothell moved to Washington with her parents in the 1920s. She graduated from Broadway High School in 1925 and shortly afterwards married Howard H. Bothell Sr., the great-grandson of David C. Bothell, founding father of the city of Bothell.
The Bothell family then began their lifelong careers in the automobile industry. Howard Sr. began working for Gallager Motors in Seattle in the late 1920s and in 1938 purchased Auburn’s Chevrolet franchise downtown. Bothell Bros. Chevrolet moved to Auburn Way North in 1969.
When Howard Sr. was called off to fight in World War II, Dorothy operated and managed the dealership until his return in 1945. She then turned her energies to civic duty to her community.
Bothell was appointed the city’s first female city councilmember in 1950 and served on the cemetery board for 18 years. She also served the Red Cross. She helped organize the first chapter of the Women’s Business and Professional Club, serving as president in 1945 and 1946, was a member of the Auburn Garden Club, Soroptimist, Eastern Star, Auburn Elks, Washington Athletic Club, Seattle Rainier Club and the Seattle Yacht Club.
Howard and Dorothy raised two sons, Howard, Jr. and John.
“She was always a person who gave everything she could to the Auburn community,” Tamie Bothell said.
