Dorothy Thayer

Dorothy “Dossi” Thayer, age 88, died March 22 at Ramapo Manor Center, Suffern. She lived in Palisades, N.Y., with her husband, Reg, for 54 years, spending her last year in the excellent care of Ramapo Manor Center.

Dossi was an independent, often outspoken, physically active woman who loved the great outdoors. She was happiest tinkering in her garden, swimming and sunbathing. She could often be found sitting on her front porch on Closter Road, enjoying the weather. She reluctantly gave up skiing at age 79.

In the 1940s and 50s, Dossi was a fashion stylist and location scout in San Francisco and New York, working with magazine fashion photographers. In the 1970s and 80s, Dossi ran a highly popular antique consignment shop, The Bazaar, in what is now “the cottage”. She and her husband were politically active and involved in many civic activities, including leading the successful effort to preserve the Palisades “triangle” in perpetuity from development.

Her husband Reg, a decorated WW II B-17 bombardier, died in 2004. She is survived by her two daughters, Karen Reina, Pearl River, N.Y., and Nina McDonald, Belfast, Maine, and their husbands, Charlie Reina and Mike McDonald; two grandchildren, Elizabeth and David Reina; David’s wife, Becky, and a great-grandchild, Tommy Reina. Dossi’s sister, Nonnie Moore, died in 2009.