On Jan. 2, New Brunswick lost a feminist pioneer, political junkie and prolific author. Her family lost a loving, generous and inspiring mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Dorothy (Ryder) Dearborn was born to Kenneth and Huia (Slone) Ryder in Saint John on July 22, 1927. She excelled in school where she published some short stories, and was one of the first Girl Guides in the province to earn a Gold Cord. Like the rest of her family she read voraciously and adored animals. With the proceeds of her first job following graduation from Saint John High School, she bought a horse. In 1948 she married Fred Dearborn. They lived on Germain Street when their first daughter was born, then moved to Quinton Heights in what was then Lancaster. By the mid 1950s they had three daughters. Depending on the season Dorothy curled, played bridge and knit mittens. She was also an active volunteer with the Canadian Mental Health Association initiating the Forgotten Patient Project that spread internationally, and establishing Saint John’s first day school for mentally challenged children. At election time she put up posters and canvassed for Liberal candidates. Then, as if she weren’t busy enough, she hired a live-in housekeeper and started a career in public relations working for the Amana Corporation and Simpsons Sears. She "retired" when her son was born in 1958. In the early 1960s Dorothy created and hosted a television program called Check and Double Check that saw panels of senior high school students and adults explore and debate the news and issues of the day. In 1962 the Dearborn family moved to a 15-acre property in Hampton that became the quintessential go-to place for dogs in need of a home in the country, stray cats and, of course, horses. When one of her daughters wanted a pig for a pet Dorothy went to farmer Gordon Patterson to buy one, but he didn’t believe pigs should be pets and refused to sell, so she stole one. Dorothy brought a three-legged goat home in her car but she had to have the cow brought by truck. When the kids and most of the horses were gone, she got herself a flock of chickens that produced eggs, which she sold to many of her neighbours, as well as fodder for her entertaining editorials in the Kings County Record. In 1963, when Lester B. (Mike) Pearson was elected prime minister, she was the first woman in the province to run for a seat in the House of Commons. She later ran provincially with Premier Louis J. Robichaud. Her political ambition satiated, Dorothy got a job that let her do what she liked best — write. At the Evening Times Globe she was appointed city editor, the first woman in the history of the publication to hold the title, as well as the first woman in Canada to serve as city editor on a daily newspaper. She went on to serve as Editor at weekly newspapers, to write for, edit and publish magazines, and eventually to write more than a dozen best-selling books on New Brunswick. She continued to write until Alzheimer’s disease made it impossible. She belonged to several writers organizations, was founder and long-time president of the South West New Brunswick Chapter of the Periodical/Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), a mentor to many writers and an effective champion of writers’ rights. Dorothy lived in Hampton until she died at the Dr. V. A. Snow Centre where she had lived and been loved by the caring staff for the past year and a half. She is survived by her children: Ana Watts (David) of Fredericton; Barbara Dearborn (William Vitale) of Halifax; Cynthia Dearborn of Yellowknife, NT; and Charles/Skip Dearborn (Kitara) of Hampton. Grandchildren: Mollie Watts (Colin Fowlie), Fredericton; Becky Webb (Norm), Fredericton; Emily Watts, Fredericton; Bianca Ridler (Chris Laing), Halifax; Victoria Ridler (Matt Stone), Wivenhoe, England; Kate Vitale, San Francisco; Fred Murphy (Toshie), Yellowknife, NT; Maggie Bastarache (Cory); Calgary, AB; Charles, Barry and Angeleah Dearborn, Hampton. Step- grandchildren Elizabeth Vitale, Halifax; Ben Vitale (Anne Simms), South Orange, NJ. Great-grandchildren: Olivia and Norah Fowlie, Fredericton; Michael Watts, McAdam; Zanobia (Zoe) Cameron, Grand Bay-Westfield; Tobias Nixon, Fredericton; Fiona and Cohen Laing, Halifax; Nicholas and Nola Bastarache, Calgary; Bridget, Michael, Abigail and Estelle Murphy, Yellowknife. Step-great-grandchildren Julia and Alice Vitale, South Orange. As well as cousins, nieces and a nephew. As teenagers Patti Pearce, now of Halifax, and Mike Whipple, now of Victoria, BC, were integrated into the Dearborn family. It was Dorothy’s interest and support of them, and as well as her positive influence, that gave each of them what they needed at the time. They too are counted among her survivors. She was pre-deceased by her husband Fred, parents Ken and Huia Ryder, her sister Patricia McLeod, her brother Barry Ryder, and step-grandchild Anna Vitale. Generous to the end, Dorothy donated her remains to the Dalhousie Medical School. She also requested a party rather than a funeral. Her family will host the event at the River Centre in Hampton on Saturday, Jan. 16, from 2 until 4 p.m. Donations in memory of Dorothy, may be made to the Literacy Coalition of NB http://www.nbliteracy.ca/kings-county/ or the New Brunswick SPCA http://spca-nb.ca/home/. Condolences to the family and donations may be made through ReidsFH.com