Dorothy S. Bliss

LIBERTY, Ky. — Dorothy S. Bliss, of Liberty, formerly of Ithaca, N.Y., passed away peacefully from this life on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. She was 105.

She was born in Olean, N.Y. on July 1, 1920, to the late Harry Ward and Nellie Austin Simmons.

She graduated from Olean High School in 1939 with two diplomas, specializing in business.

During WWII, Dorothy was employed at St. Francis Hospital as a nurse’s aide. Longing for office work, she helped local families with housekeeping, sold perfume beads, and freely helped an Oleaner set up a business filing system.

Relocating to Ithaca, her recognized secretarial skills  were employed by Dewitt Historical Society County Historian, (1954-1960); First Unitarian Church of Ithaca, (1960-1969); Cornell University College of Human Ecology (1969-1971) and  Cornell Graduate School of Business and Public Administration (1972-1974). She was also a former member of the Martha Chapter 38 O.E.S in Jamestown, N.Y. and the Dorianthia Chapter #9 O.E.S. in Ithaca.

Dorothy began college classes at the age of 87 at Rutgers University and Middlesex County (NJ) Community College. In 2013 she  was instructed by an award winning personal fitness trainer in Plainsboro, N.J.

Becoming a centenarian she continued to write memoirs and create and donate wearable fabric art.

Dorothy will be remembered as a marvel. She was an open and loving heart. With a sense of humor and wit , she made strangers into friends by saying  “I love you and I don’t even know you. That is what we are supposed to do.”

She is survived by a daughter, Dr. Cheryl Bliss of Liberty, formerly of Ithaca; a granddaughter, Dr. Aminah M. Bliss, MD of California; and two great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents, Dorothy is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 63 years, Wayne H. Bliss, who passed away in 2005; and her son, Dr. James R. Bliss (Professor Emeritus), who passed away in 2020.