Dorothy Sword

Dorothy Lorene Sword of Niceville, Florida, died on Dec. 22, 2016, at Crescent Park Village in Crestview, Florida.  She passed away following a long struggle with COPD, a respiratory disease caused by cigarette smoking.

Born, “Dorothy Jackson” on March 6, 1933 in New Harmony, she grew up in the rural backcountry of the Florida Panhandle. She spent her formative high school years in Defuniak Springs, which she considered to be her home town.

Dorothy worked many jobs during her 83 years on Earth.  Her favorite was as a fingerprinting analyst for the FBI in Washington DC.  A close second was no job at all: for many years, she served happily as a volunteer for the Okaloosa County Sherriff’s Posse.  She was also a school bus driver for the Okaloosa County School System and a case worker for the Council on Aging.  Dorothy was a passionate advocate for both the young and old in her care.

Dorothy is preceded in death by three unnamed children lost at childbirth, her mother Gracie Marie Jackson, her father Hub Jackson, her first husband James B. Phillips, and her sister Ruby Rowe.

Dorothy is survived by her son Tony Phillips and his wife Katharine Allen, grandchildren Amelia, Anna and Jordan, her brother WWII veteran Rufus Jackson, and her unofficial “second son” Mark Harber and his wife Phyllis. Dorothy’s family extends special thanks to the personnel of Emerald Coast Hospice and the staff of Crescent Park Village in Crestview. Their kindness, compassion, and creativity made Dorothy’s last two years miraculously bearable and allowed Dorothy to remain in a loving home-like environment to the very end. 

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