Lawrence - Dorothy (Baker) Hildebrandt died March 13, 2018, after 95 richly-lived years. Born in Somerville, Mass., January 26, 1923, to Leon H. Baker and Mildred (Marsh) Baker, she moved with her family to Methuen as a child, and graduated from the Edward F. Searles High School in 1940.

In 1941 she married the love of her life, Alfred H. (“Hilde”) Hildebrandt, at the Vine Street Methodist Church in Lawrence. They raised four children in the Prospect Hill neighborhood, Diane L. (Hildebrandt) Robinson, Robert L. Hildebrandt, Andrew W. Hildebrandt, and Joyce A. (Hildebrandt) Crawford. They also made a comfortable home for “Nana” Baker in the Dutch flat of their cape. Besides being a great wife and mother, Dot worked in clerical capacities in the Wood Mill, the Lawrence YWCA, and the dental office of Dr. Alfred Arcidi. She was also the organist at the Vine Street Methodist Church in Lawrence and the Oakland Methodist Church in Methuen. Later, she and her daughter, Diane, established “Diane’s Designs in Glass” in Londonderry, N.H., creating stained glass sun-catchers, windows and Tiffany-style lamps.

Dot and her husband Al were active in their church, and were also avid (and skilled) square dancers. She and her family also spent over 40 happy summers camping at Lakeside Pines Campground in North Bridgeton, Maine, where they swam, boated, water-skied, and forged many fond friendships. Upon retirement, Al and Dot moved to North Fort Myers, Fla. They enjoyed gardening, growing citrus fruit, biking, swimming, bowling, going to the beach, and playing cards with their many new friends. Al worked part-time for K-Mart, and Dot became the organist at Good Shepherd Methodist church in North Fort Myers.

Dot is predeceased by her husband Alfred; her brother, Alvin; both her daughter, Diane, and son-in-law Anthony Robinson of Londonderry, N.H.; and also her son, Robert. She is survived by her beloved son, Andrew, who with his wife, Linda, made a very comfortable home in Methuen for her in her final years; also, her loving daughter, Joyce, widow of the late Bruce Crawford, of Greenfield, Mass., as well as ten grandchildren, Bruce Robinson, Thomas Robinson, Marc Mirisch, Nicole Mirisch, Joshua Thomson, Rebecca Kolakoski, Alexander Thomson, Christopher Rousseau, Andrew Rousseau, and Chelsea Hildebrandt. There are also eight great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to express their sincere thanks and gratitude to the staff of the Mary Immaculate Nursing and Restorative Center, especially the staff of unit 3B, as well to Merrimack Valley Hospice, for their wonderful care of Dorothy in her final year. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either organization, or to a charity of the donor’s choosing.

A celebration of Dot’s life will be held at the Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home on 233 Lawrence St., in Methuen, on Saturday, May 19, at 11 a.m. Friends are invited to join the family for a luncheon after the service. As Dorothy contributed her body to Tufts Medical School, the family will hold a private interment of her ashes at a later date.