Dorothy Ann (Ruswinckel) Hanna
Dorrie Hanna, 78, passed away unexpectedly on July 10, 2020, from acute leukemia and pneumonia.
Dorrie was born September 17, 1941 to Ann (Gallmeyer) and John Ruswinckel in Grand Rapids, MI and grew up in East Lansing. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in English in 1963. While at U of M, she lived in the Martha Cook dormitory and remained in touch with other alumnae of that residence for the rest of her life.
She met her husband Douglas while they were both U of M students; their first meeting was on the way to a Sailing Club party. Dorrie was the last to be picked up -- she opened the door to the overloaded car, hopped in, sat on Doug’s lap, and said “Hi! I’m Dorrie!” They married in 1964. In 1965, Doug took a position at Electric Boat and they moved to Groton, CT. In 1975, they moved their young family to the house in Mystic. She knew it was “hers” from the instant she saw it, and spent the next 45 years making it her own.
When she and Doug first moved to Groton, Dorrie searched and found a job at the New London Public Library. After they moved to Mystic, she volunteered at the S.B. Butler Elementary School Media Center and worked for nearly 35 years at the Mystic & Noank Library and at the Mystic River Historical Society in various roles. She was, at one time or another, the editor of the newsletters for both organizations.
According to Joanna Case, former Library Director at the Mystic & Noank Library, Dorrie was the “backbone and soul” of the library’s development office and kept things going through many evolutions. She adjusted and adapted to every change and trained every new person coming in; the staff always knew that on Dorrie’s watch everything would be okay and would work well.
Research was a passion of hers, whether it was connecting branches of her own family tree or helping others do the same through genealogical websites or the historical society. At the MRHS, she helped local, visiting, and online researchers with a wide variety of academic, personal, and commercial inquiries, including family histories, local area history, and Mystic house records for books and other publications. She worked closely with her Curatorial Assistants, Elizabeth Boucher and Louisa Watrous, for more than 10 years, She accepted and processed donations of items to the collections, followed up with the donors, and reported to the Curatorial Committee. Dorrie was also co-editor of two books through the MRHS -- An Account of My Life: The Journals of Helen May Clarke, and Images of America Mystic, with longtime friend Judy Hicks.
Dorrie was a voracious reader and spent her evenings reading new releases from the library as fast as she could get her hands on them -- so long as Doug didn’t sneak them away.
In addition to Dorrie’s passion for reading and research, and her work at the library and historical society, she contributed to the local community through the Mystic Junior Woman’s Club, her involvement in her children’s Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, volunteering to help sew costumes for Fitch Senior High Drama productions, and many other projects we either can’t recall or never knew about.
Always putting others before herself, Dorrie made seamless work of running the household, the family, and many organizations; she constantly and selflessly attended to the thousands of details that ensured everyone felt connected and cared for. As Joanna put it -- “Dorrie kept the coffee going,”
At the same time, Dorrie was a master of the eye roll, with a wry, dry, and often acerbic wit underpinned by real brilliance. Her comments, often just a few perfectly-chosen words, summed up situations eloquently and made her opinions clear.
Left to cherish her memory, and struggle to recreate her pfeffernüsse and sauerbraten, are: husband Douglas, daughter Katherine (Matthew) Berger, grandchildren Sarah Dorothy, Adam Douglas, and Thomas Eli; daughter Jennifer (Brian) Masciadrelli; son Michael (CJ); brother John (Betty); much-loved “outlaws” Sharon Hanna and Marsha Hanna (Mike Moran); longtime college friends Bob and Lois Geary, John and Penny Webster, and Norm (predeceased by his wife Judy) Rabe, and a raft of extended family and friends near and far.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Mystic River Historical Society, 74 High Street, P. O. Box 245, Mystic, CT 06355 or the Mystic & Noank Library, 40 Library Street, Mystic.
Because she was never one to boast about her activities, it has been a surprise and delight for us to learn how many lives she touched. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a gathering in her memory will be scheduled for a future date; in the meantime, we ask that you enjoy a cup of black coffee or a glass of red wine in her memory, and we would be grateful if you left stories for her family at Legacy.com or on this website by clicking the link below.