Mrs. Dorothy Mae Graff Tohill

Dorothy Mae "Dottie" Graff Tohill, a resident of Somerset, KY died on October 7, 2007 at her residence at the Highlands in Somerset, KY. She was born on July 31, 1920 in Fonda, Iowa, also the hometown of her mother. She is the daughter of the late Fred and Mae Farrell Graff of Laurel, Montana. She graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1943. On October 6, 1943, she volunteered to join the U.S. Army Air Force, and in 1944 qualified as a flight nurse in the Medical Air Evacuation Service. Her unit was then stationed at Palm Springs, CA where she met her husband to be; Sgt. John Tohill who was assigned to the same unit. She completed her military service stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, nursing injured soldiers who were being ferried by air from as far as the Philippines, to hospitals in the states where the particular treatment they needed could enhance their return to health. On one flight the air crew of which she was a part, received a commendation for flying into Okinawa to pick up wounded soldiers while the battle there was still in progress. Dorothy served as Director of Nursing at the original Somerset City Hospital on Bourne Avenue. She retired as Director of Nursing in 1983 after 25 years of service from what was then Humana Hospital of Somerset, KY. She served a five year term on the Kentucky State Board of Nursing and she was the first woman to serve on the Pulaski County Board of Health. Among other agencies to which she belonged; she was a proud member of the group which helped to organize what is now known as Hospice of Lake Cumberland. After 10 years of retirement, Dorothy and her husband, an ordained deacon and both members of the St. Mildred's Catholic Church, responded to a call to direct St. Peter's Catholic Church in Monticello, KY. The church was in danger of being closed due to the shortage of priests. Dorothy and John both served there nine years until Dorothy’s illness. Dorothy is survived by her husband, John Tohill, whom she married on February 14, 1946 in Minneapolis, MN; three daughters, Mary T. Yeiser of Winchester, KY, Dorothy (Duff) Clark of Somerset, KY and Jean Marie Lessing of Los Angeles, CA; two sons, Donald Tohill of Winchester, KY and Dr. Thomas A. Tohill of Somerset, KY; two brothers, Don Graff of Fairfax, VA and James Graff of Billings, MT; the following grandchildren, Kim Ann Davis of Milwood, VA, Mark Davis of Paris, KY, Kirt Yeiser of Oak Harbor, WA, Therese Smith of Winchester, KY, Mary Catherine Adamson of Madisonville, KY, Michael Tohill of Waxhaw, NC, Ryan Tohill of Indianapolis, IN, Jessica Tohill of Orlando, FL, Taylor Tohill of Lexington, KY, Kathryn Tohill of Lexington, KY, Erin Clark of Louisville, KY, Kerri Brooks of Somerset, KY and Alex Lessing of Los Angeles, CA; and five great grandchildren. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents and one son; John Joseph Tohill Jr. Dorothy was a kind, Christian lady who will be greatly missed by all who knew her and she leaves a host of relatives, friends and church family who mourn her passing. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at the St. Mildred’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow in the Mill Springs National Cemetery at Nancy with military honors conducted at the graveside by the American Legion Post # 38. The family will receive friends at the St. Mildred’s Catholic Church from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 9th, 2007. The family requests expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to Hospice of Lake Cumberland, 100 Parkway Drive, Somerset, KY 42503. Pulaski Funeral Home is honored to be in charge of all funeral arrangements for Mrs. Dorothy M. “Dottie” Tohill.