Dorothy H. Fickle

Dorothy H. Fickle, 80, of Bainbridge Island, died March 2 at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. She had lived with Parkinson’s Disease for the past 16 years.

She was born Sept. 27, 1924, in Eliot, Maine, to Chauncey D. and Sara K. Wentworth. Her father was a Methodist minister, and she grew up in several small towns in Maine.

She earned a bachelor of arts degree at Boston University in 1946, and a master’s degree in international relations the following year.

After teaching for a year at the University of Maine, she moved to Washington D.C., where she met Lee E. Fickle, whom she wed on Sept. 23, 1950.

The couple moved to Cameron, Mo., where their three children — Kate, Floyd and Susanne — were born. The family moved to Indianapolis, Ind., for a few years, where Dorothy earned a teaching certificate at Butler University.

In 1962, her husband accepted a position as an engineer in Bangkok, Thailand. Dorothy and the children embarked on a “grand adventure” as the family spent the next 16 years in Southeast and South Asia, and Dorothy pursued a new career.

The family lived in Bangkok, Dacca (then in East Pakistan), and finally Jakarta, Indonesia.

Dorothy became intensely interested in Asian culture, history and art. She was a founding member of the Bangkok National Museum Volunteers Group. These interests led her to apply for the doctoral program in ancient Indian culture at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a Ph.D. in 1978.

The couple moved to Kansas City, Mo., where Dorothy embarked on a 15-year career at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, where she was curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, Persian and Islamic art. She also served as longtime secretary for the American Council for Southern Asian Art.

She was the author of three books — “The Life of the Buddha,” “Images of the Buddha in Thailand” and her own memoirs, as well as numerous scholarly articles. She was an intrepid traveler, exploring China’s Silk Road, Tibetan monasteries among many journeys throughout all of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast and East Asia.

After Dorothy’s retirement in 1993, the couple moved in 1994 to Bainbridge Island to be closer to family. They found a home at the top of Baker Hill Road, before moving to Winslow.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Lee Fickle; daughters Kate (Jerry) Carroll of Menlo Park, Calif., and Susanne (Tom) Regan of Allyn, Wash., and son Floyd of Seattle; sisters Grace W. King of New York City, Ruth (Doug) Addison of Farmington, Conn., and brother John W. Wentworth of Falmouth, Maine.

A memorial service will be held May 21 at Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Winslow. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Helpline House, 282 Knechtel Way, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.