Dorothy Louise Corbin Small Brand’s life did not come to an end on October 12, 2023, in Brady, Texas. She just changed addresses to her heavenly home which she was prepared to move into because of her faith in Jesus Christ. Dorothy Louise was born January 2, 1930, in Grapevine, Texas to the Chasteen family. She was the 10th arrival to Hayden and Jessie Chasteen. Their family grew to a total of 12 children, 8 girls and 4 boys. Most of her life was lived in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area with brief stays in Georgetown, Texas and Menard, Texas.
You may have noticed that Dorothy had several last names. She married George Thomas Corbin, and he was the father of her three children, Randy, Travis, and Susan. She became a widow at the age of 38. Up until this time she had enjoyed her first job of taking care of her home and young family. Following the death of her husband, she went back to school and became a licensed tax assessor collector for the Coppell ISD. This was her career until she retired. God did not plan for Dorothy to live her life alone. He brought a second husband into her life, Jay Small. They were married 28 years until his death and his children Gary and Karen were added to her family with their children and grandchildren becoming a part of her life. Then her third and final husband joined her life, Ben Brand. Some have trouble finding even one Godly man with which to share their life. Dorothy was grateful that God gave her three.
Dorothy loved to cook and could pull a 5-course meal together at a moment’s notice if you dropped by at the last minute. She knew the difference between entertaining and hospitality. She said, “entertaining is steak, salad, and dessert while hospitality is beans and cornbread or grilled cheese”. She loved to invite people to her home for fellowship after church. She loved music of all kinds unless it was too loud and then she would stuff Kleenex in her ears. Her home always included a piano. For most of her life, her hearing was oversensitive. She loved to play the piano and in her last six weeks, she had a ministry of playing and singing with her new neighbors at Royal Oaks Assisted Living in Brady. She loved everybody and made everyone feel special. She loved to read and enjoyed attending a book club to discuss what everyone’s thoughts were about a book. She was a writer herself, authoring several poems and an autobiography of her early life. Her book’s title was The Sweetest Cookie in the Batch. Her sister, Flora, had called her by that title while growing up. She was a serious crossword puzzle solver and solved the New York Times puzzles out of the newspaper for years. She would plan her afternoon in later years around Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. She also loved movies and liked to think of herself as the Dowager from Downton Abbey. She loved all shades of peach and pink and filled her home with hats, wall pockets and pictures of her family. She loved the church and probably in her lifetime she helped with every task she could to support the work of her church. She taught many ages in Sunday School, sang in the choir, played an instrument, helped in VBS and their family even cleaned their church in younger days. The thing she loved most though was her children and grandchildren. She was so proud of each one of them and was so grateful to be a part of their lives. Dorothy’s legacy lives on through these people. She is survived by her children, Randy and Elaine Corbin, Travis and Phyllis Corbin, Susan Prewitt-Colitsas and Bob Colitsas. Her grandchildren are Sean and Teresa Roe, Georgana and Gary Chaney, Brandon and Valera Corbin, Caleb and Courtney Johnson, and Katie Prewitt. Great grandchildren are Haley Roe, Kristen Neal, Patrick Neal, Blythe Louise Johnson, Joe Johnson, Cade Corbin, Claire Corbin, and George Corbin.
Please join the family at a Celebration of Life Service for Dorothy at First Baptist Church, Menard, Texas, at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 21, 2023. Reception to follow the service.