Born: 01/24/1939
Newport, Rhode Island
Died: 09/07/2026
Berlin, Vermont
Details of service:
There will be a Celebration of Life on June 5, 2027 at Memorial Hall on Mirror Lake in Calais.
In lieu of flowers the family is asking you consider a donation to one of the following organizations:
Rural School Community Alliance or
North Calais Memorial Hall Association 207 G.A.R. Road, Calais Vermont
Dorothy (Openshaw) Naylor of Berlin, previously of Calais, passed away peacefully at Woodridge Nursing and Rehabilitation on September 7, 2026 after a long and well-lived life.
Dorothy was born at Newport Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island on January 24, 1939, to James A. and Dorothy (Harvest) Openshaw. She moved with her family to Southampton, Massachusetts in 1941 where she attended the local elementary school and graduated from Northampton School for Girls in 1957.
Dorothy attended several universities including Cornell and New Mexico before landing at University of Massachusetts (Amherst) from which she graduated in 1961. While at UMass she met and married her lifelong partner and love, Ben Naylor. Together with their infant daughter (Sonja) they moved to Manhattan, Kansas in the summer of 1961. While there, Ben continued his studies and their family grew to include three sons. In 1967 Ben had completed his studies and they’d had enough of flat, featureless, windy land, so they moved the family back east and settled at Kents Corner in Calais before moving to Collar Hill in 1972 where they resided for over 50 years.
Dorothy went by different names. Her father nicknamed her Lass when she was born because, as he said, “She was slow as molasses in January,” in a riff on her birthday and her tardy entrance to the world. Despite the nickname, she could never be considered sluggish, stagnant, or unproductive. For most of her adult life she was known as Dot (or Aunt Speck by some cheeky nieces and nephews). In her later years she was known as Dorothy at her request.
In addition to her several names, Dorothy wore many hats throughout her long and active life. She taught 5th & 6th grades at East Montpelier Elementary School for 20+ years, she served on multiple boards and committees, she partnered with Ben in homesteading their land and developing a thriving small business. She was a lifelong learner, an innovator before innovation was cool, and generally a feisty woman who regarded obstacles as challenges to be overcome her whole life.
Dorothy began her teaching career in the Four Corners (one room) School House. At the time it was an overflow building for the modern elementary school. She walked her students two-tenths of a mile to and from the main building several days a week for specialty classes such as PE, art, and the like. After a couple years overlooking the field across the road she envisioned a Nordic skiing program that would simultaneously teach winter survival skills, so she applied for a grant, bought cross-country ski sets and taught many generations of students how to ski and enjoy the winter.
Throughout her life Dorothy embraced serendipity. One day in 1976 she bought too many peaches from the co-op and turned them into a thriving boutique jam business now owned by son Kelt and his wife Kristina. In the beginning Dorothy hand wrote all the labels. Those labels are now digitally printed using her handwriting for the font. As the business grew, she delivered and managed, while Ben handled production and product development. Now this jam, and many other specialty food products, can be found on store shelves throughout New England.
Dorothy had a healthy respect for civic engagement and town service – she served on many boards – most related to education. She and Ben were involved in the citizen committees that created the modern Calais Elementary School and U32; both built in the early 1970s. She later served on the Calais School board during the contentious merger required by Act 46. She continued engaging in the fight to maintain local schools right up to the very end, attending school board meetings virtually from her nursing home.
Maybe it was immersion in a place where tourism is an economic staple, maybe it was just her personality; in any case Dorothy actively avoided crowds, mainstream tourism, and other “touristy” events. She and Ben took three very memorable vacations in their life. The first and most momentous in 1994 when they toured Antarctica on a retired Russian research vessel. They were caught up in international intrigue when the ship was impounded in the Falkland/Maldive Islands and Argentina refused to allow passage through their airspace to Tierra del Fuego in Chile!
Though she was always active, she was never too busy to wander their property in Calais or sit on the porch of their cottage on Lake Champlain with a gin & tonic.
Dorothy is survived by her three children: daughter, Sonja N. Andrews, (Ross), Calais, VT; son, Kelt M. Naylor, (Kristina), Dummerston, VT; son, Benjamin E. Naylor, (Jennifer), Petersburg, NY as well as 7 grandchildren: Lillian and John (Rebecca) Andrews, Caroline and Max Naylor, Aleana, Sophia (Lucas), and Eli Naylor, and one great grandson, Harvest Andrews. Dorothy was predeceased by her beloved husband, Ben Naylor, her infant son Kurt W. Naylor, her parents and siblings, Judy (Openshaw) Findeisen and James A. Openshaw, Jr.
