Bettina Fogge (Sullivan) Dobbs, 95, formerly of Newtown, Cushing, Maine, and Rockland, Maine, died peacefully in Cushing on November 13. She was born in Natick, Mass., on May 30, 1921, the daughter of the late William James Sullivan and the late Ethel Marion (Dooling) Sullivan Brissett and stepdaughter of the late Earl Anthony Brissett.

Living in Newtown, she enjoyed developing her homemaking skills including knitting, crocheting, canning, and sewing. She had been trained and worked as a nurse. Later she became a teacher before her retirement to Maine in 1974. She helped establish Adult Education, Teen Canteen, a Bicycle Rodeo, and Future Nurses Club.

Retiring to Maine, she helped found the Guardians of Education for Maine (GEM) with Charlotte Iserbyt. A panelist for radio and public TV, Mrs Dobbs was a speaker for homeschooling education groups and went on to serve as a technical consultant for the US Department of Education.

Much of this work was severely curtailed by strokes in 2001, but that did not stop her determination be an author and have her works published. Gems from the GEM Years, Prologue to Eternity (an autobiography), and a series of Mouse Stories are now in print.

Mrs Dobbs' passion for education positively influenced many families throughout her years. She will be remembered for her quick wit, infectious smile, and the sparkle in her eye when her family came to visit, especially her great-grandchildren, whom she joyfully challenged to countless games of Go Fish.

Her son, Brian W. Dobbs, and his wife, Donna, of Cushing; her daughter, Judith D. Ruhm, and her husband, David, of Connecticut; her grandchildren Jason Dobbs, Jenna Tidd, Douglas Ruhm, and Cynthia Ruhm; her great-grandchildren; her great-great-granddaughter; and her nephews survive her. She is further survived by other relatives and many special friends. Her husband, Sydney Robert Dobbs; her brother, Robert Bruce Sullivan; sister, Grace Eileen Sullivan; and great-grandchild Jordan Dobbs predeceased her.

The visitation for Mrs Dobbs will be conducted on Saturday, November 19, from 12:30 until the time for the funeral service at the Trinity Baptist Missionary Church, 65 Gleason Street, in Thomaston, Maine, at 2 pm. Burial will immediately follow at the Norton Cemetery in Cushing.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Trinity Baptist Missionary Church (see address above).

Mrs Dobbs's family would like to send a special thank you to all the staff at Bartlett Woods, Rockland, and The Homestead in Cushing for all the tender care shown to Mrs Dobbs over the last years.

Hall's of Thomaston has care of the arrangements.

To extend online condolences, light a candle, or to share a story or picture, visit hallfuneralhomes.com.