Dorothy May “Dotty” Brimhall, 76, of Sundown Girls Ranch near Aripine passed away on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, in Clay Springs. The public viewing and visitation will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, one hour before the funeral services at 10 a.m., at the Clay Springs Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5150 Highway 260 in Clay Springs. The concluding service will immediately follow at the Clay Springs Cemetery. She was born on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 1940, in Miami, Ariz., to the late Alma Edwin and Dorothy (Price) Bigler. She was the oldest of nine children. Her family ran the Sundown Ranch near Aripine, which was attended by many youth, mostly from the New York and Chicago areas, from 1944 to about 1962. She was talented in sewing, made most of her own clothes, and created costumes for productions she and her family were involved in. Dotty grew up in Heber and graduated from Snowflake High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at Northern Arizona University. She taught school on the elementary and high school levels in many schools in the White Mountains, such as Blue Ridge, Clay Springs, Concho, St. Johns, Show Low, Snowflake and Whiteriver, as well as in Ash Fork. She was creative in her teaching methods, and tried to help each of her students know that they were precious, important and loved just like her own children. She helped produce and direct plays and road shows for her school classes, and also with her church members. She had “sticktoitivity” in everything she did. She helped compile and edit a history of the Clay Springs community and helped others to write their personal histories for posterity sake. She compiled many stories from her own life and that of her family. She enjoyed music and played the piano with her children for performances, and sang in the church choir. She played in the marching band at NAU, which is where she met the late Allan Fredric Brimhall. They were married Aug. 6, 1963, and had five children, but had since divorced. Dotty was a lifetime member of the LDS church, and served in various positions of responsibilities including the Boy Scouts of America, helping boys achieve the rank of Eagle. She loved her country deeply, and encouraged others to respect and honor the freedom that many have paid dearly for. She shared her testimony of her Savior, Jesus Christ, by how she treated others. She loved people and always found ways to lift them up if they were down. Her family consists of her children David Allan Brimhall and John McGregor of Phoenix, William Craig and Katherine Elizabeth (Jansky) Brimhall of New Braunfels, Texas, Michelle (Brimhall) and Raymond Dean Brewer of Clay Springs, Brian Andrew and Sandi Lyne (Cottam) Brimhall of Lakeside, and Mars Brimhall and Audrey Lenorah Palmer of Flagstaff Arizona; her siblings, Edwin Ray and Catherine “Cathy” (Green) Bigler of Mesa, Charles and Kathleen (Pratt) Bigler of Grassy Plains, B.C., Canada, Janet (Bigler) and the late Don Grant Jackson and the late John Ramsey Raasveld of Clay Springs, Fred Lynn and Evette Ellen (Cox) Bigler of Grassy Plains, the late Alma Jean “Jeannie” (Bigler) and Danny Lynn Owens of Show Low, William “Bill” Dale Bigler, Al LaVar and Raedine Louise (Brown) Bigler of Grassy Plains, and David Earl and Pamila (Majors) Bigler of Langley, B.C., Canada; 23 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She was often heard to quote Heber J. Grant, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier. Not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to perform it increases.” Owens Livingston Mortuary of Show Low was in charge of the arrangements.
