Dorothy Pace Pratt

The heavenly choir of angels has a new conductor! Dorothy Pace Pratt left her earthly life on February 10, 2023, due to causes incident to age and Dementia, which has been stealing her from us slowly since 2010. She was born on May 19, 1932 in Bountiful, Utah, to Gordon Bennett and Elizabeth Ann James Pace, the 3^rd of 4 children. She loved her brothers Ralph and Arnold, and her sister Faye. They had worlds of adventures growing up together.

Known throughout her life for her beautiful voice, she started singing solos in Church at age 3, and continued for the rest of her life, bringing goosebumps and tears to many when she would hit that “high note” with such emotion! Dorothy also competed in a few beauty pageants in her late teen years. She was named “Miss Davis County” in 1950, and went on to compete in the “Miss Utah” pageant. Someone from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (the name at the time) heard her perform there and she was recruited at age 18 to be a member of the Choir. She loved the Choir and went on several wonderful trips with the “Mo Tab” over the years of her participation.

She married Donald Young Pratt in October of 1953 (later divorced). During the 1950s, she worked at Hill Air Force Base in Layton. Her son Christopher Dirk Pratt came along in August of 1959, and a daughter Lisa Kay (Nutter) was born in July of 1962. After the divorce, Dorothy and her 2 children moved into her parent’s home in Bountiful while Dorothy went to college to obtain an Elementary Education teaching degree. Chris and Lisa became extremely close with Grandma (Elizabeth) and Grandpa (Gordon) Pace, and loved them as a second set of parents.

Dorothy was a single mom during a time when that was extremely uncommon, and she was an amazing one. Lisa was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (then called “Juvenile Diabetes”) in December of 1970. This was the “dark ages” of Diabetes, and Dorothy immediately took action, learning everything she could about the disease to help teach Lisa how to manage it. She was soon creating sugar-free recipes of fudge, cookies, and Peach Astro Bars at the family drive inn, Pace’s Dairy Ann, helping to make Lisa feel a little bit more “normal”.  Dorothy would also spend hours in the back yard playing catch with Chris, who played Baseball in Little League and Pony League.  She also enrolled Chris in music lessons for Piano and Guitar, and later, enjoyed (?) hours of extremely loud, house-shaking rock and roll songs coming from the basement as his band practiced.

Dorothy was a beloved elementary school teacher in the Davis School District for over 40 years. She was nominated and featured in “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” over several years, was honored by the Utah State Legislature as “Outstanding Educator” and was named to Davis District’s Hall of Fame. She taught at Oak Hills Elementary for the first part of her teaching career and ended at Washington Elementary. Over the years, she taught 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grades, settling mostly in 4^th Grade.  She was a great favorite among parents and children, often teaching entire families of students by parental request. She received many letters and wedding invitations from former students, telling her that she was their favorite teacher ever. She gave unselfishly over the years and made a difference in hundreds of lives, teaching students to love Reading, History, Music (Classical, and all others), Science, Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, and the Earth.

Upon her final retirement, (there were a few) she joined a local Karate Dojo where her grandson had practiced for many years. Derek had recently received his Black Belt, and she set a goal of earning that same rank, which she accomplished in her early 70s. She competed (and won!) in many karate tournaments in both Kata and Kumite divisions.

A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she was the Conductor for Sacrament Meetings as well as the Ward Choir for decades. She held some other church callings over the years, but invariably, they all were musical, just like her.

She set an example of personal responsibility for her children, and taught them to love people, animals, music, nature, and to help those in need. For many years she supported her “adopted” children in Kenya, India, and Ethiopia. It was very important to her that girls in these underprivileged areas of the world received an education, and she was generous in her support of many girls and young women over the years.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her mother and father, her brother Ralph Pace and sister, Faye Shackleford, and many dear friends, cousins, and co-workers over the years.  She is survived by her son Chris Pratt (Sue) and his 4 daughters: Lindsay (Jacob) Bean (Sophia, Theia, Jacob, & Brayli), Jacque (Phil) Hansen (Aidyn & Sage), Jamie (Malachi) Everett (Gracie, Chloe & Beau), and Katie (Josh) Donahoe; her daughter Lisa Nutter and her children & step-children: Derek (Aubrie) Nutter, and Nicole Nutter; David (Tiffany) Nutter (Malia, Cecily, Daphne, & JD), and Danni DeLuca; her brother Arnold Pace, and several nieces and nephews.

On behalf of the family, we would like to extend a very deep and heartfelt thank you to the Memory Care Unit staff at Truewood by Merrill Sr. Living in Bountiful. The staff there loved our momma as if she were family, and we thank them with our whole hearts. We would also like to extend a special thanks to Cascade Springs Home Health and Hospice for taking such good care of our mom.

We will be having her “Celebration of Life” service on Wednesday, February 22^nd, 2023, beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 N. Main St., Bountiful, Utah. There will be a viewing on Tuesday evening, February 21^st, 2023, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and on Wednesday prior to the service from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. Interment will be at the Bountiful City Cemetery.

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Mortuary & Crematory Facebook page and on this obituary page.  The live stream will begin about 10-15 minutes prior to the service and will be posted below.

In lieu of flowers, Dorothy would’ve loved it if you would please take the time to visit, call, text or write to those people who are important to you.  In the alternative, a donation to the Humane Society of Utah, ASPCA, or another animal rescue organization would also make her very happy!