Dorothy Paul
PAUL, BOULERIS, QUERO, PRESTON, FISCHER, GWYNN, TAYLOR
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 7/15/2024 at 13:15:52
Dorothy Paul, a citizen of the world, died on June 7, 2024.
Dorothy Paul was born in 1927 in Cohoes, New York to Elizabeth and Joseph Bouleris. She attended Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, and received her B.A. and M.A. degrees (American Studies) from the University of Iowa.
She married David M. Paul, MD in 1953 in Bennington, Vt. Dorothy had been a resident of Iowa City since 1954, when she traveled there with her husband for the opening of the VA Hospital for his position in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
Dorothy lived in Iowa City for 70 years and she was a firm believer in making an impact on people in the state and in her community. Her grassroots political activism was focused on the United Nations, global issues, the environment, human rights, women and children, nuclear proliferation, and social justice.
For over 20 years, (1979- 2000), she was the Executive Director of the Iowa United Nations Association (UNA-USA). In 1998 she started an event in Iowa City, the “Night of 1,000 Dinners,” which was originally part of a UNA-USA nationwide landmine clearance initiative aiming for 1,000 fundraising dinners across the country. This event, now 26 years old, continues yearly as a very successful community celebration honoring Johnson Country non-profit organizations, and is held on yearly on International Women’s Day in March.
In 1999 Dorothy, along with two UI Professors, Burns H Weston, and Rex Honey, and Gina Crosheck, organized the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights (UICHR). In 2001, she accepted the position of UICHR Associate Director for Community Affairs and coordinated the “One Community, One Book” project from 2001 to 2006. The program continues successfully in Iowa City today.
She also served for many years on the UICHR Advisory Board. In 2018, UICHR presented her with a Courage of Conviction Award in honor of her role in founding and sustaining the UI Center for Human Rights.
In 1991, the community honored Dorothy with the Iowa City Human Rights Commission award for an Individual in a Service Organization. She was locally honored again in 2006 when she was awarded the Iowa City Human Rights Commission Isabel Turner Award for her work with the UICHR on human rights locally and globally, as well as her work on the Human Right to a Clean Environment. She was an Iowa City Human Rights Commissioner for six years.
She was a strong and early supporter for women’s rights, attending the 1980 United Nations World Conference on Women held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dorothy was also an active advocate for protecting the environment and she worked to raise awareness on the dangers of climate change. In her work, she participated in the UN conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.
In August 2006, Dorothy was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame, a project sponsored by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, for her work with the Iowa United Nations Association for a period of over 30 years. Her papers are on file at the University of Iowa Women’s Archives.
A voracious reader, her library will be donated to the Africana Children’s Education Fund to support a children’s orphanage in Ghana. Over the years, she also supported the education for a young woman in Nepal to become a nurse, and this woman is now giving back to her community in Nepal by working in a large hospital there.
Dorothy served as General Chair of the Iowa United Nations Association until 2023. She was a member of the Johnson County UNA Chapter, Iowa City Rotary Club, the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the ACLU.
She is survived by her daughters, Liz Paul (Jorge Quero) of Pleasanton, CA; and Marlene Preston (Edward) of Troutville, VA; sister, Shirley Fischer of Watervliet, NY, and sister-in-law, Rose Bouleris of Hudson, FL; daughter-in-law, Mary Gwynn; Grandchildren, Sara (Steven) Quero and Nico (Austin) Quero, Channing (Anna) Preston, Kate (Michael) Preston Keeney and James Preston; and 6 great grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband, David ; her son, Phillip Paul; her parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Bouleris; her brother, John Bouleris and sister, Anne Taylor.
Dorothy also leaves behind many good friends at the Oaknoll Retirement Residence, where she has lived for the last seven years.
There will be no visitation. Her body has been donated to the University of Iowa College of Medicine Deeded Body Program for scientific purposes.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Dorothy’s name may be made to the Iowa United Nations Association (Iowa UNA), 20 E. Market St., Iowa City, 52245, The Unitarian Universalist Society (UUS), 2355 Oakdale Road, Coralville, Iowa, 52241, or The University of Iowa Center for Human Rights (UICHR), c/o the UI Center for Advancement, PO Box 4550, Iowa City, 52244.
Written correspondence may be directed to the family in c/o Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, P.O. Box 167, Iowa City, IA 52244.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen