Obituary of Dorothy J. Klie

Dorothy J. Klie, known to all as Danya, died May 7th, 2012, in the home of her twin sister Barbara in Belfast. Danya was born on May 19, 1943 in Englewood, NJ, to Robert Henry and Dorothy Hug Klie, both now deceased. She grew up in Chatham, New Jersey, where she graduated from high school. Danya majored in music at Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA and music provided much pleasure in her life. She regularly sang Shape Note music with the Belfast group and was a member of the lesbian choral group Shira. After college Danya worked as a computer programmer for a few years, but a more adventurous life called to her. In the early 1970s she left her job and New England, and joined her two sisters who were already living in California. In 1975 she took a trip to Alaska with a group of friends and wound up staying in Fairbanks for 17 years, employed as a programmer, worker on the pipeline, or working with people with disabilities. In 1992 she returned to New England and settled down in Belfast, where she worked in a group home until she retired. She especially enjoyed her years of retirement. Loving the outdoors and being physically active, she took long bicycle trips including one from the west to the east coast well before it was commonly done. She loved canoeing, kayaking, and hiking, but it was her organic gardening that had priority. She did volunteer work at MOFGA, and also for CMLT, pulling invasive honeysuckle at the Stover Preserve with the "Honeysuckle Sisters". Danya lived with integrity, giving of herself to whatever she deemed important, and setting the rest aside. She was admired for making an incredibly small footprint on this earth through simple, sustainable living. Her last nine months with cancer were lived with such grace. She could no longer do the activities she had so loved doing, but time with family and friends became the source of her happiness, which was abundant. Danya is survived by her brother Jack, of Seekonk, MA, and her sisters Ginny of Florianópolis, Brazil and Barbara in Belfast, two nieces, a nephew and their children. She will be greatly missed by her family and her many friends.