Dorothy Greene

Dorothy May Greene (79) of Smithtown, NY, affectionately known as Dottie, passed away surrounded by family on May 27, 2023 in Wading River, NY. She was born on January 13, 1944, in Freeport, NY, to parents Dorothy and Joseph Dowling. She spent her childhood in Freeport and Brentwood, NY. Dottie graduated from Brentwood High School and went on to attend classes at Suffolk Community College.

Dottie was a woman of remarkable character and strength. She was dedicated to her work as a Nursing Station Clerk at Stony Brook University Hospital for over 30 years. Her devotion to her job enabled nurses and physicians on her unit to provide the best care possible for their patients and families. She was admired by everyone who had the privilege of working with her.

Dottie was also a woman of many talents and interests. When she was younger, she pursued crafts such as traditional needlepoint, crewel embroidery, long point, and crochet. She took great pleasure in figuring out how things worked and how to fix them and often wondered if things had been different in her youth whether she would have become a mechanic or an engineer. Throughout her life, she thoroughly embraced spending time at the beach or a day fishing on the water regardless of whether she caught a fish or not. She was a voracious reader and also relished a challenging crossword puzzle. She enjoyed watching football and baseball. She loved local auto racing. She grew up attending Freeport Speedway with her father, later sharing her love of racing with her children at Islip Speedway, and more recently, spending Saturday nights with her family and friends sitting in the top row of the exit to Turn 4 with a Miller Lite in her hand watching all the local divisions including the NASCAR Modifieds at Riverhead Raceway.

Dottie had a strong faith in God and believed in His faithfulness and care for her and her family throughout her life. Dottie leaves behind her loving husband of 42 years, Norman Greene; her daughter, Donna Barbaro, and son-in-law Kevin Gildersleeve; her sons, David Bruno, Leonard Greene, Mitch Greene, and daughter-in-law, Mei Greene, and granddaughter, Jade; her sister Linda Licata and brother-in-law Richard Licata. She is preceded in death by her parents, sisters Jane Vollmer and Lillian Ciambriello Purick, and her brothers Jimmy Dowling, Johnny Dowling, Vincent Dowling, and Joseph Dowling.

A Celebration of Life for Dottie will be held on Friday, June 16, 2023, from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM at Alexander-Rothwell Funeral Home (6447 Route 25A, Wading River, NY 11792). A prayer service will be held at 7:00PM.

The family has requested contributions in Dottie's memory be made to the American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org), Long Island Lending a Helping Hand (https://www.lilahh.com), Island Harvest (https://www.islandharvest.org), or the JTM Foundation at Mather Hospital (Cancer Care Fund or to the Fortunato Breast Center).

Dottie will always be remembered as a loving wife, caring mother, and devoted friend who touched the lives of many. Her kind nature and selfless character will be deeply missed by all those who knew her. Her legacy lives on through the memories she created with her family and friends.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dorothy Greene, please visit our floral store.