Dorothee S. PEALY 

("Dorrit") died on December 25, 2001. An activist and community 
leader in the Seattle area for the past 34 years, Dorrit worked to 
encourage democratic participation at all levels of our government and 
society. She was a passionate defender of human rights and those less 
fortunate than her, and gave her time, money and emotional energy to 
their defense. Dorrit's zeal for political activism arose from her 
childhood experiences fleeing Nazi Germany. She was born on 
February 11, 1926 in Mannheim, Germany, the daughter of Dr. Alfred 
and Marie Strauss. Her father was the head of the Psychiatric Institute 
at the University of Heidelberg and known worldwide for his pioneering 
research in the treatment and education of brain-injured children. The 
Strauss family enjoyed a comfortable life in the academic world of pre-
war Germany. This changed in 1934 when Dr. Strauss realized early on 
the threat posed by the Nazis. Dorrit's beloved older brother Franz 
died unexpectedly shortly before the family left Germany to seek safety. 
At first the family sought refuge in Barcelona, Spain. In a series of many 
narrow escapes from the German Gestapo and the Spanish Civil War 
the family fled to Italy, Switzerland and finally to the United States in 
1937. Dorrit would vividly recall the moment when she saw the Statue 
of Liberty in New York harbor from the deck of a transatlantic 
passenger ship. For the first time in many years her family had found 
safety. Dorrit fully embraced her new country and the social institutions 
that she felt were the basis of American freedom. Her family settled first 
in Plymouth, Michigan where Dorrit finished high school, and later in 
Racine, Wisconsin, where her father established the Cove Schools for 
education of brain-injured children. Dorrit's political interests began 
early on, when as a high school student she gave speeches to 
community organizations to encourage the purchase of War Bonds. She 
entered the University of Michigan and majored in Political Science. So 
began an academic career that eventually earned her a Ph.D. in 1957 at 
a time when less than one percent of doctoral degrees were awarded to 
women. While working towards her degree she met and married 
Robert H. Pealy, then a graduate fellow in the U of M Political Science 
Department. He was the love of her life and she often said that their 
devotion and love for one another was her greatest accomplishment and 
treasure. Dorrit began a balancing of academic and political activism 
with family responsibilities that would last her entire lifetime. In 1961 
Dorrit became a candidate for Mayor in Ann Arbor Michigan. Even 
though the idea of a mother of two children becoming Mayor was 
unheard of at the time she nearly defeated the incumbent through a 
campaign of public access to city government. Her move to the 
Northwest in 1967 came when her husband was offered a position as 
head of the Institute of Governmental Research at the University of 
Washington. Dorrit subsequently taught at the UW and at Western 
Washington University in Bellingham. She taught and counseled many 
students who have since become leaders in our community. She also 
worked with local municipalities on a number of civic projects and as a 
consultant for a number of governmental agencies. Never again a 
candidate herself, she worked quietly behind the scenes on a wide 
variety of causes and campaigns. She worked towards greater attention 
by the government to issues of importance to women by getting women 
elected to public office. She served for seven years on the Metro 
Council when the agency first came under intense scrutiny for the West 
Point treatment plant and the downtown transit tunnel projects. She was 
the campaign manager and consultant for many women political 
candidates in the Shoreline area. Dorrit helped create the Shoreline City 
Charter and worked to get qualified municipal candidates elected. She 
was a devoted board member and donor to Shoreline's Center for 
Human Services. Her last role in public service was as chair of the 
Fircrest Foundation in Shoreline. Dorrit's health and civic involvement 
declined over the past two years, but her love of her community never 
faltered. She once said that her " attitudes were shaped by bullets flying 
through the air, of packing up and fleeing, and of civil war. I feel 
strongly about wasting life in a war. Mediation and negotiation are the 
only way". Her lifelong efforts to promote a just and open society will 
be felt for many years. Her husband Bob, her parents Alfred and Marie 
Strauss and her brother Franz precede Dorrit in death. Her children 
Jane and Nick, her son-in-law Dan Hershman and grandchildren Jason, 
Sara and Evan survive her. The family suggests that 
donations/remembrances be made to the Center for Human Services, 
17018 15th NE, Shoreline, Washington, 98155. A memorial gathering 
will be held on Saturday, March 16th at 11 a.m. at the new Lake 
Forest Park City Hall, located at the corner of Bothell Way and 
Ballinger Way. 

Feb 23, 2002
Seattle Times