Dorothy "Dot" Setliff Keslar

Dorothy Keslar lived a long, loving and dedicated family life reaching the age of 97 when she passed away on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. She remained in her Colonial Heights home for 70 years, living an active and independent life until her passing, a proud personal accomplishment.

Dorothy was born in Lunenburg County, Virginia on December 29, 1927 to the late Beulah Mae and Robert E Lee Setliff. Shortly thereafter at the beginning of the depression, her family moved to Danville, Virginia. Dorothy adored her parents and her siblings and enjoyed her life in Danville. She made many wonderful childhood memories and kept in touch with many of her childhood friends throughout her life. After graduating from Schoolfield High School in 1946, Dorothy worked for nine years as a timekeeper and bookkeeper for the Dan River Mill.

In her early twenties, Dorothy met the love of her life Emerson “Gus” Keslar who had recently been discharged from the Navy after serving during WWII. They were married on November 17, 1951. They were a perfect fit, he was the adventurer, and she ran the family home, assuring that family needs and priorities were not sacrificed. With their two children, they bought a home and settled in Colonial Heights, Virginia.

In 1962, Dorothy began working in the accounting department for the American Tobacco Company. Retiring in 1990 after 28 years of service, she rose in rank from a cost account clerk, to an inspector/editor group leader, to a supervisor within the accounting and payroll departments. Dorothy overcame many challenges facing women in the workplace during that era but her strong work ethic resulted in a successful career while balancing work and family life.

Dorothy’s post-retirement life focused on supporting her immediate and extended family, volunteering for numerous charities, traveling with family, and maintaining her home. Dorothy was a parishioner of Immanuel Baptist Church and later Woodlawn Baptist Church both in Colonial Heights. She was always giving back to her community, spending many summer days working the local athletic concession stands, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the Post 284 baseball teams or assisting a senior in need. She and her husband traveled around the country on senior citizen bus trips.

To her children, Dorothy was the glue of the family. She managed the household and the finances, watching every penny when times were tough. Dorothy instilled in her children a strong work ethic and the value of an education, ensuring they were focused on their studies. She showed them, by example, how to live a good and moral life. Dorothy lived a simple life but created a happy home life for her children, making wonderful memories on holidays, weekend camping trips in their trailer, the 1964 World’s Fair, Niagara Falls vacation, visits to Danville to see relatives, and yearly vacations to Myrtle Beach or the Outer Banks. Dorothy found joy in the simple things, her snowball bush, planting flowers and vegetables, telling stories of her life, pineapple milkshakes, playing Setback with her siblings, or Uno with her grand and great-grandchildren. Dorothy was loved by all and will be missed by her family, neighbors and friends.

She is predeceased by her parents; her husband, Emerson “Gus” Keslar; and her siblings, Vivian L. Ryan, Archie G. Setlliff, Marion F. Setliff, and Decatur L. Setliff.

She is survived by her children, daughter Debra Farley of Chester Virginia and son Emerson and wife, Grace Keslar of Wall Township, New Jersey; her three grandchildren, Matthew Farley (Danielle Farley) of Chester Virginia, Caroline Bruner (Michael Bruner) of Howell, New Jersey, and Daniel Keslar of Wall Township, New Jersey. She is also survived by five great-grandchildren, Talan, Nicole and Siena Farley, and Olivia and Dawson Bruner; sister-in-law, Ruby Curtis of West Lafayette, Indiana; and numerous wonderful nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at the Colonial Heights Chapel of the E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes, 2033 Boulevard, Colonial Heights, Virginia 23834. Interment will follow in Blandford Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the funeral from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Dorothy’s memory to either Feed More, 8020 Villa Park Dr, Richmond, VA 23228 or to American Legion Post 284, 505 Springdale Avenue, Colonial Heights, Virginia 23834.