Dorothy Vern Vincent

Dorothy Vincent, a long-time Richmond resident, died on February 17, 2012, in a rest home in Sacramento. She was 94. She was born on November 3, 1917, in San Francisco, to Charles and Minnie (Alber) Meseth. Her family moved to Oak Park in Sacramento, where she lived until age nine, until returning to San Francisco. She attended Mission High School, where she was valedictorian of the class of 1935. She was awarded a full scholarship to UC Berkeley but had to decline it because she had to support her family, which by then was fatherless. Instead, she went to secretarial school and became an insurance underwriter for Aetna Insurance Company. In 1946, she married Nicholas Brown Vincent, a recently discharged radar technician in the US Navy. They moved to Richmond, where she lived on 31st Street until disabled by a stroke in 2007. When her son reached high school, she began part-time work for the Richmond (West Contra Costa) Unified School District, eventually moving into a responsible administrative job until she retired. She is survived by her son, Richard Vincent, of Rio Linda; her daughter-in-law, Joan; her grandsons, Nathaniel and Gregory, of Sacramento; and her brother, Bernie Meseth, of Cupertino. She was preceded in death by her husband and her sister, Betty (Meseth) Springer. During her long life, Dorothy faced many adversities with great strength and determination. She worked assiduously to overcome the disabilities from her stroke. Despite age, medical problems, and setbacks, she seldom lost heart and she struggled to recover until the end. She was a wonderful spouse, sister, mother, and grandmother. She will be buried with her husband and mother in Rolling Hills Memorial Park in Richmond.