Mrs. Dorothy Jane Maxwell
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Dorothy's obituary
Having grown up in the Philly area, Dorothy and her family moved south to Atlanta and then to North Carolina with a few years in Raleigh before finally settling in the Charlotte area in 1967. At the age of 44, she reluctantly attended a Bible study led by the late, great Alma Owen at the Little Church on the Lane (around the corner from the Manor Theater) in “uptown” Charlotte. Her friend Marion Goforth had told her “these ladies talk about Jesus...like He’s IN THE ROOM!” Dorothy later commented that these Bible study ladies “loved me...and they didn’t even know me.” That love pierced her heart and her life was changed. She didn’t sign up for a bunch of religious rules for better living….she had run into Jesus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch… UPDATE: service recorded on youtube!
Her family frankly thought she had become a religious nut...talking about Jesus...all the time. Over the next few years however her husband and three children encountered the loving reality of God and joined her on the journey! When Haines, Sr. broke his hip, Alma Owen moved the bible study from the church to the Maxwell House on Park Road extension where it continued on Wednesday nights for over 20 years serving as a great encouragement to so many in the community.
Dorothy was involved in Alma’s Bible study, serving and leading in the Little Church, participating/leading Bible Study Fellowship and Community Bible Study International in the Charlotte area, supporting the mission of her friends Safie and Mohamed in Sierra Leone BUT her real love was 20+ years of working with the 4th-6th graders at the Little Church teaching them the things of God’s kingdom and SHOWING them the love of Christ. For decades, her dining room table was always full of notes and plans for the coming Sunday with her kids. Inspired by them and her own kids/grandkids, she spent years writing and illustrating “Angie and The Angels”.
Dorothy is now reunited on the other side of eternity with her brother Edwin Sprague, sisters Helen Purdum and Marge Levy and so many others who encouraged her and loved her on her spiritual journey including Alma Owen, Annabelle Wylie, Louis Jackson to name just a few! Looking forward to the ultimate reunion is her husband Haines A. Maxwell, Sr, her sons, Haines, Jr. and W. Scott, daughter Marti Maxwell Peterson, son-in-law Todd Peterson, Sr, daughters-in-love Dianne (Haines, Jr) and Catherine (Scott), grandchildren Carrye Maxwell, Haines, III and his wife Michelle, Anna Maxwell and her husband Kevin, Scott Maxwell, Jr., Emily Maxwell, Catherine Maxwell, Sam Powell, Todd Peterson, Jr. and his bride Emma, Sarah Peterson Walton and her husband Isaac, Rachel Peterson and fiance Stuart Rodgers, bonus grandson Kory Rozich and great-grand kids: Haines A. Maxwell 4.0, Hudson Maxwell, Barrett Gage, Lani Gage, David Walton, Ruby Walton….and perhaps more to come! Dot is also survived by her sister-in-love Mary C. Sprague and the many beloved nieces/nephews/cousins from the Sprague/Maxwell family trees....most of whom have stubbornly refused to move South!
Though she spent years studying and wanting others to understand the Bible, her real heart was for everyone to know the love of Jesus in a real and intimate way. Her last few years of life she would often say, "You know what it's REALLY about? It's about love." She had received and experienced God's love...a love that is patient and kind, a love that keeps no record of wrongs, a love that never fails...and she just wanted to give it away.
A Celebration of her life will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, July 31 at The Little Church on the Lane, 522 Moravian Lane, Charlotte, NC 28207. Continued celebration after the service in the fellowship hall beneath the sanctuary. All are welcome to join us in person or through the miracle of the internet LIVE streaming on facebook.com/haines.a.maxwell…
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