Dorothy Mae Thompson Koone of Denton, Texas, died Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at Baylor Heart Hospital in Denton, Texas, of complications arising from heart disease. She was 83 years old.

Dorothy was born on September 16, 1941, in Marshall, Arkansas. She grew up in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and graduated from high school at age 16. She earned a Bachelor of Education from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma, and a Master of Education from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, where she met her husband Lisle Neal Koone. Dorothy and Neal were married from August 17, 1961, until Neal's passing in March of 2019, a union of almost 58 years.

In 2010, at the age of 69, Dorothy enrolled in Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She achieved a lifelong goal when she was awarded a Master of Divinity degree in 2014. She was called to First Christian Church in Marietta, Oklahoma, where she served until December 2015.

After leaving full-time ministry, Dorothy continued to preach from time to time at First Christian Church of Denton and the chapel at Good Samaritan (Lake Forest Village) retirement community. She preached her last sermon on Ash Wednesday of 2025.

For much of her life, Dorothy was an English and journalism teacher. She taught at Edmond Junior High School in Edmond, Oklahoma; Columbia Christian High School and College in Portland, Oregon; A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, Texas; and Sanger High School in Sanger, Texas. She was also a water aerobics instructor at Texas Woman's University, an early adopter of word processing as a legal secretary in Portland, Oregon, and a reporter at The Daily Leader newspaper in Stuttgart, Arkansas.

Throughout her life, Dorothy made it a point to participate in her community. She volunteered as a church musician, Sunday School teacher, Scout leader, Habitat for Humanity fundraiser and builder, soup kitchen worker, and many more.

Dorothy loved to play games, support her local sports teams, and travel. She was a member of a trivia group for several years and regularly played Scrabble and bridge with her friends. She was an avid supporter of her Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Cowboys, and long ago, the Portland Trail Blazers. Dorothy and Neal toured throughout North America in a motorhome and took great pride in the fact that they had been to all 50 states and most of the southern provinces of Canada. In 2021, Dorothy traveled to Paris, France, a city she had long dreamed of visiting.

Dorothy is survived by daughter Katrina Ayres of San Jose, California, and Katrina's husband Keith Ayres; daughter Mary Koone of North Richland Hills, Texas, and Mary's daughter Ruth Kingsbury; son William (Billy) Koone of Dallas, Texas; and nephew Thomas Myers. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Mae Thompson; her husband, Neal Koone; her sister, Doris Myers; and her nephew, Andrew Myers.

Dorothy was a wonderful mother, grandmother, auntie, sister, community leader, and friend. She will be truly missed.