Dorothy Crown, a resident at The Village at Palmerton, celebrated her 93rd birthday on July 15.

Born in Harrisburg, she is the only child of the late Claude and Maude Hassinger. She chuckles when she says that her parents said she was the perfect gift, so they stopped there.Dorothy, "Dot" as she is better known, attended William Penn High School and later Central Pennsylvania Business College.When she was about 21 years old, Dot and her friend Jean were at a local rollerskating rink and Harold was there with one of his friends."Harold came up and asked me to skate and then asked if Jean would skate with his buddy. He took the train all the way from Harrisburg to Middleton to see me after that, because of the fuel rationing during the war, the train was a smarter choice," said Dot.The two dated and eventually married in January 1944 in Dayton, Ohio, at his family church. The Crowns bought a home in Camp Hill.Dot continued working for a few years but left when she had her first child. Larry was born in 1952, and their second son, Barry arrived 21 months later.When the boys progressed to high school, Dot decided to rejoin the workforce and went to work at Nationwide Insurance Company, where Harold also worked.She was there for 15 years and Harold 20, when they both took early retirement and treated themselves to a two-week vacation in Hawaii, visiting all four islands."It was beautiful and relaxing," Dot said. "We traveled and visited family until Harold fell ill in 2003."He passed away during December of that year, just weeks shy of their 60th wedding anniversary. After the funeral Dot stayed in Carbon County with Barry and his family, and moved to The Village in the summer of 2004."I have had a good life, and am very thankful for all the Lord has given me," she said.Dot starts each day reading her Bible. She attends worship services at St. Paul's UCC Church in Big Creek with Barry and his wife Wanda, and recently returned from a trip to New England, where she did a bit of sightseeing and attended a wedding.She enjoys exercise class, playing bingo and attending musical programs.