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Dorothy Watts

Shared by Galina Stele.

Watts, Dorothy May Eaton (1937–2010)

By Sabrina Riley

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Sabrina Riley was born in Auburn, New York and raised in Dowagiac, Michigan. She received a B.A. in history from Andrews University and an M.A. in information and libraries studies from the University of Michigan. Riley was a member of Andrews University’s library staff from 1998 to 2003, library director and college archivist at Union College from 2003 to 2016, and is presently a freelance researcher, author, and information professional.

 

First Published: April 21, 2025

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Dorothy Eaton Watts was an Adventist educator, author, and women’s ministries leader who founded Sunshine Home, the first Seventh-day Adventist orphanage in southern India.

Early Life

Dorothy May Eaton was born on December 4, 1937, in Hilliards, Ohio.1 Her parents were Oliver Andrew Eaton (1891-1965) and Estel Halterman Lackey (1900-1986),2 who were married on February 12, 1935, in Jackson, Ohio. This was a second marriage for both of them.3 Thus, Dorothy had an older half- brother, James Lewis Eaton (1920-2007), from her father’s first marriage, and an older half-brother, Donald Wilfred Lachey (1922-2002) from her mother’s first marriage.

Although her parents had early affiliations with church work, during Dorothy’s childhood they were florists in Jackson, Ohio, Estel’s hometown. On her mother’s side, Dorothy was a fourth-generation Seventh-day Adventist, her great-grandmother, Ella M. Brown (1856-1951), having joined the church around 1898. The Browns and Haltermans were founding members of the Adventist church in Jackson, Ohio.4 Dorothy attended public elementary school in Jackson. She was baptized on January 8, 1949.5

Education and Marriage

After graduating from Mount Vernon Academy in 1956, Dorothy Eaton attended Washington Missionary College in Takoma Park, Maryland, where she trained as an elementary teacher. She was a student leader and edited The Sligonian, the Washington Missionary College weekly student newspaper in 1958-1959.6 She later took a speed writing class at Saskatoon Business College in 1963.7 She completed a Bachelor of Science in elementary education at Andrews University in 1974.8

Dorothy Eaton married David Ronald “Ron” Watts of Ontario, Canada, on September 6, 1959.9 Ron was a student at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, which at the time was located in Washington, D.C., not far from the General Conference office and approximately a mile and half from Washington Missionary College. They later adopted three children, Stephen, Esther, and David Raja, while working in India.10

Career

During the early years of their marriage, Dorothy supported her husband’s ministry in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in Canada. Dorothy taught school for two years in Canada.11

In late 1964, the Watts were called to the South India Union.12 During this term of service Dorothy Watts carried a missionary license.13 Arriving in Madras (now Chennai) on July 25, 1965,14 the Watts made their home in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), where they would live and work until 1982. At first Dorothy filled support positions. She taught the elementary children of other missionaries and later served as principal of the International School, which enrolled the expatriate children of several denominations as well as USAID15 personnel.16 From 1969 to 1974 she continued teaching part time and also served as office secretary/assistant for the South India Union conference office.17 Watts found other ways to contribute to the work of the Church in India as well. In 1966 she introduced the concept of Vacation Bible School in the Kannada Section.18 In support of her husband’s work as ministerial secretary, she was among the presenters in seminars which taught communication skills, assisted with clothing drives, and directed cooking skills that promoted healthful eating.19

In 1969, Watts was asked to care for two sick and orphaned infants. This led her and Ron to open their home to more children and to open the Sunshine Home Orphanage in June 1979 with the assistance of Reach International and the Adventist Child Care Agency. Several months later they rented a building at 2 Wheeler Road, Banglore, next to their home, in which to house the children. South India Union President Weldon H. Mattison facilitated the hiring of Rosetta Davamony to direct the daily operation of the orphanage, which eventually moved to Kalkere, Bangalore 43, in 1987. By 1981 the orphanage was home to forty-one infants and young children and by 2007, about 100 children were in residence. Watts’ goal was to find family homes for each of the children.20 She and Ron adopted three of the children themselves.

Following a furlough in 1977, Watts began to move into leadership positions. In 1979 she became director of Home and Family Services for the South India Union.21

In 1982 the Watts family returned to the United States. They settled first in Oregon and then spent a year in Michigan, where Ron was lay activities secretary and associate church ministries secretary. Dorothy taught school in both conferences. While Ron served the Alaska and British Columbia conferences as president from 1988 to 1996, Dorothy held no official positions, but actively mentored and supported ministers’ wives in these conferences.22

Dorothy Watts was elected director of Women’s Ministries of the General Conference in 1997. Though her tenure was short, she effectively developed resources for use in local churches. She was also a talented speaker, popular for her gift of telling stories with deep spiritual lessons.23

In 1998 the Watts returned to India after Ron was elected president of the Southern Asia Division. For the next ten years, Dorothy also served the division as associate secretary. During this second tenure in India, she organized Adventist Child India, a program that continues to provide sponsorship for the children of new church members to attend Adventist schools.24 Other projects during these years included literacy, health education, and AIDs awareness programs. She also prioritized empowering women through programs that improved their economic conditions.25

Published Works

Throughout her years in India, Dorothy Watts was a frequent contributor to the Southern Asia Tidings magazine, reporting on news around the conference or union, particularly about events involving herself and her husband. For a brief time in 1973-1974 she was editor of the South India Observer.26 However, her writing talents extended far beyond news articles and editing a union conference newsletter.

Watts’ first book, This Is the Day, was a published in 1982.27 It was a daily devotional book for junior-age children and earliteens. This was followed by three more devotional books for the same age group: Stepping Stones in 1987,28 Friends for Keeps in 1995,29 and Getups! Daily Devotionals for Juniors in 2005.30 Her concern for the spiritual lives of children and their parents was evident in other publications as well, including two books for parents of children who had left the church. As director of General Conference Women’s Ministries, Watts co-edited two devotional books in the series begun by Rose Otis, the proceeds of which contributed to the Scholarshipping Our Sisters program.

Other works by Watts ranged from a series of books on prayer to chapter storybooks to manuals for conducting women’s ministries and managing volunteers. As Sharon Cress summarized at Watts’ funeral: Dorothy Watts emulated Jesus in her love of stories, her compassion for other women, and her heart for children.31 Her published writing covered all three areas.

Later Life and Death

Dorothy Eaton Watts’ talents and contributions to the Seventh-day Adventist Church ended prematurely when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2007. Both Dorothy and Ron returned to Maryland where she received treatment.32 That same year the Association of Adventist Women named Dorothy Adventist Woman of the Year for Entrepreneurial Church Leadership.33 She died on November 8, 2010.34

Sources

Adventist Child India. N.d. Accessed April 9, 2025. http://www.adventistchildindia.org/.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 1810-1973. Cuyahoga County Archive, Cleveland, Ohio. Ancestry.com. Accessed March 30, 2025. https://ancestry.com.

Daniel, J. “Kannada Constituency Elects New Officers.” Southern Asia Tidings, May 1966.

Dickinson, Loren. “Keen Interest in Campus Organizations Indicated.” Columbia Union Visitor, September 25, 1958.

Dorothy May Watts. Biographical Information Blank. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland.

“Ella M. Brown obituary.” Columbia Union Visitor, September 6, 1951.

“Estel Eaton obituary.” Southern Asia Tidings, May 1986.

General Conference Committee. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A. Accessed April 9, 2025.

Kwiram, Verla Michel and Roy Naden, with Adventist Review staff. “Dorothy Watts, Missionary, Author, Child Advocate, Dies at 72.” Adventist News Network, November 11, 2010. Accessed April 17, 2025. https://adventist.news/news/dorothy-watts-missionary-author-child-advocate-dies-at-72.

“The Life of Dorothy Watts.” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Accessed March 30, 2025. https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts.

“Marriage Licenses.” Chillicothe Gazette, August 29, 1959. Accessed March 30, 2025. Newspapers.com.

Purushotham, Nesamani. “What’s Cooking?” Southern Asia Tidings, November 1968.

Ohio. Birth Certificates. Ohio Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Columbus, Ohio. Ancestry.com. Accessed March 30, 2025. https://ancestry.com.

Samraj, Y. R. “Tamil Section Teachers Meet in Institute.” Southern Asia Tidings, July 1971.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1984-2006.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1965-1983.

“Sunshine Home.” Helping Hand Welfare Society. 2025. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://hhws.org/about/who-we-are/sunshine-home/.

“Sunshine Orphanage Receives Visitors.” Southern Asia Tidings, June 1981.

Watts, Dorothy M. “Adventist Child Care Agency Cares.” Southern Asia Tidings, June 1981.

Watts, Dorothy M. “Bangalore Youth Hold Clothing Carnival.” Southern Asia Tidings, June 1979.

Watts, Dorothy Eaton. Friends for Keeps. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995.

Watts, Dorothy Eaton. Getups! Daily Devotionals for Juniors. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2005.

Watts, Dorothy Eaton. Stepping Stones. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1987.

Watts, Dorothy Eaton. This Is the Day. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1982.

“Welcome.” Southern Asia Tidings, August 1965.

“Women of the Year.” Association of Adventist Women. N. d. Accessed April 17, 2025. https://www.associationofadventistwomen.com/women-of-the-year.

Notes

  1. Ohio, Certificate of Birth 1937099881 (1937), Dorothy May Eaton; Ohio Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Columbus, Ohio, Ancestry.com, accessed March 30, 2025, https://ancestry.com; “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts.↩

  2. “Estel Eaton obituary,” Southern Asia Tidings, May 1986.↩

  3. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 1810-1973, volume 173-174, page 382, October 1934-August 1935, Cuyahoga County Archive, Cleveland, Ohio, Ancestry.com, accessed March 30, 2025, https://ancestry.com; Oliver Eaton’s first wife, Kathrine Rose, died in 1922; Estel Halterman was divorced from William Guy Lachey around 1933. He apparently spent the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital.↩

  4. “Ella M. Brown obituary,” Columbia Union Visitor, September 6, 1951, 5.↩

  5. Dorothy May Watts, Biographical Information Blank, General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland. Dorothy Watts may have been baptized in 1948 instead of 1949. She listed two different dates on three different forms.↩

  6. “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts; Loren Dickinson, “Keen Interest in Campus Organizations Indicated,” Columbia Union Visitor, September 25, 1958, 9.↩

  7. Dorothy May Watts, Biographical Information Blank, General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland.↩

  8. Ibid.↩

  9. “Marriage Licenses,” Chillicothe Gazette, August 29, 1959, 2, accessed March 30, 2025, Newspapers.com.↩

  10. “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts.↩

  11. In her 1965 Biographical Information Blank, Dorothy Watts stated that she had taught school for two years, apparently not in Adventist church schools as it was not included with her church-related work experience, but rather in the general work experience category. The Southern Asia Tidings in August 1965 claimed that Dorothy Watts had five years of teaching experience. See “Welcome,” Southern Asia Tidings, August 1965, 15. There is no other evidence supporting this.↩

  12. General Conference Committee, October 8, 1964, 729, General Conference Archives, accessed April 9, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1964-10a.pdf.↩

  13. “South India Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1965), 220.↩

  14. “Welcome,” Southern Asia Tidings, August 1965, 15.↩

  15. United States Agency for International Development. Created in November 1961 to provide economic assistance.↩

  16. “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts.↩

  17. Dorothy May Watts, Biographical Information Blank, General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland.↩

  18. J. Daniel, “Kannada Constituency Elects New Officers,” Southern Asia Tidings, May 1966, 5-6.↩

  19. See for example, Y. R. Samraj, “Tamil Section Teachers Meet in Institute,” Southern Asia Tidings, July 1971, 15; Nesamani Purushotham, “What’s Cooking?” Southern Asia Tidings, November 1968, 14-15.↩

  20. “Sunshine Home,” Helping Hand Welfare Society, 2025, accessed April 14, 2025, https://hhws.org/about/who-we-are/sunshine-home/; “Sunshine Orphanage Receives Visitors,” Southern Asia Tidings, June 1981, 13; Dorothy M. Watts, “Adventist Child Care Agency Cares,” Southern Asia Tidings, June 1981, 12-13; Verla Michel Kwiram and Roy Naden, with Adventist Review staff, “Dorothy Watts, Missionary, Author, Child Advocate, Dies at 72,” Adventist News Network, November 11, 2010, accessed April 17, 2025, https://adventist.news/news/dorothy-watts-missionary-author-child-advocate-dies-at-72; Nancy Mattison Mack, family friend, to the author via WhatsApp, April 14, 2025.↩

  21. “South India Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1980), 288.↩

  22. “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts.↩

  23. Ibid.↩

  24. “Southern Asia Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1998), 299; “Southern Asia Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2008), 335; “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts; “About Us,” Adventist Child India, n.d., accessed April 9, 2025, http://www.adventistchildindia.org/AboutUs.aspx.↩

  25. Verla Michel Kwiram and Roy Naden, with Adventist Review staff, “Dorothy Watts, Missionary, Author, Child Advocate, Dies at 72,” Adventist News Network, November 11, 2010, accessed April 17, 2025, https://adventist.news/news/dorothy-watts-missionary-author-child-advocate-dies-at-72.↩

  26. “South India Observer,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1973), 427.↩

  27. Dorothy Eaton Watts, This Is the Day (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1982).↩

  28. Dorothy Eaton, Watts, Stepping Stones (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1987).↩

  29. Dorothy Eaton, Watts, Friends for Keeps (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995).↩

  30. Dorothy Eaton Watts, Getups! Daily Devotionals for Juniors (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2005).↩

  31. “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts.↩

  32. Nancy Mattison Mack, family friend, to the author via WhatsApp, April 14, 2025.↩

  33. “Women of the Year,” Association of Adventist Women, n. d., accessed April 17, 2025, https://www.associationofadventistwomen.com/women-of-the-year.↩

  34. “The Life of Dorothy Watts,” Ministerial Spouses Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed March 30, 2025, https://www.ministerialassociation.org/pastoral-families/spouses/magazine/archives/2011/1/the-life-of-dorothy-watts.↩

×

Riley, Sabrina. "Watts, Dorothy May Eaton (1937–2010)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. April 21, 2025. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=6JQP.

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Riley, Sabrina. "Watts, Dorothy May Eaton (1937–2010)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. April 21, 2025. Date of access October 15, 2026, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=6JQP.

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Riley, Sabrina (2025, April 21). Watts, Dorothy May Eaton (1937–2010). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved October 15, 2026, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=6JQP.

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