C F VIGOR 1962

Dorothy Jean Marler

As many of you know, Dorothy has suffered from Alzheimer's Disease for, at least, the past 20 years. I asked her husband, Carson Hicks, to write a short biography about her as well as her family's generational struggle with this devastating disease.

Carson has lovingly cared for Dorothy in their home since her diagnosis and subsequent mental demise. He has graciously composed the following tribute to Dorothy to share on our web site.

Dorothy Jean Marler was born October 24, 1944 at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida to Marine Sergeant, James Hardy Marler of Green County, Mississippi and Frances Jean Shipman of Spartainburg, South Carolina. She was the second child of six children, four boys and two girls. Her family moved to Green County and farmed until she was five years old. Her father gave up farming and they moved to South Carolina where he was employed at a munitions factory until it was closed during the Eisenhower presidency.

When Dorothy was twelve the family moved again, this time to Satsuma, then to Prichard in Mobile County Alabama. She attended K. J. Clarke middle school and was a member of the Vigor High Class of 1962. She was employed with South Central Bell Telephone company after graduation as a clerk typist. She married February 14, 1964 (Valentines Day) to James Carson Hicks, a co-worker (and Murphy High class of 1956). Her first child (daughter) Melinda Jean Hicks was born September of the following year, and her second child (son - Richard Jason Hicks) born 1969. She continued to work at various job titles and locations until hurricane Frederick occurred in 1979. She quit working two months later to shepherd her children through school in Theodore. She was employed as a census taker in 1980 and worked as a substitute teacher at Theodore High School and also worked part time with Gayfers Department Store at the same time. She was active in the PTA at Theodore and aided in getting approval of the athletic field at the school.

In 1983, The family was transferred to a new job in Birmingham, Alabama, where Dorothy was again employed by Bellsouth as a secretary. She also became a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant later in 1992. Her husband was offered and accepted an early retirement package in 1991 during a period of downsizing. It was in 1991 that Dorothy began experiencing a "personality change". Where she had once been self confident and self assured, she became less confident and seemed more confused. She began to have difficulty handling her job as secretary to the Director of Rates and Tariffs. She began to make mistakes in her day to day work, which was totally unlike her. Then there came a day that another early retirement offer was made that included her position. She accepted and retired in 1994. With her daughter married and her son graduated from High School, She and her husband moved to Fairhope and built a house.

In 1996 she was diagnosed with "early onset Alzheimer's". An inherited disease caused by a mutated gene passed from parent to child. She had known of a "disease" that ran in the Marler family caused by "an old Indian curse". There was not a lot of credence place on this family tale until research into the family history proved it be half true. The disease has been trace back to Maxfield McCormick, who came to South Carolina in the 1790s. His widow, Dorcia McCormick, and their three sons migrated to Lowndes County, Alabama in the 1820s and to Butler County, Alabama in the 1830s (later became Crenshaw County). One of these sons was Thomas McCormick. He had a large family which included Thomas Jefferson McCormick. Thomas Jefferson has one known child, a daughter, Mary Frances McCormick. Mary Frances was Dorothy's paternal Grandmother. Maxfield, Thomas, Thomas Jefferson and Mary Frances all died about age sixty and all had a type of dementia.

Dorothy's father, James died with heart failure accompanied by an unknown dementia. There is known to be fourteen cases of this dementia in generations following the death of Mary Frances McCormick including Melinda, daughter of Dorothy who was diagnosed in 2003. This disease usually starts in the mid to late forties and death usually happens by the early sixties.

Dorothy's symptoms started at about age 47 and she is now almost 63. Her physical health is generally good, mentally she is in a "vegetative" state. She only moves her head and her hands. Her eyes are the only responsive thing about her, and they never focus on anything for very long. It's like she is searching for something with her eyes and never finds it.

She would like you to know that the last independent and focused things she did was continually going through her Vigor year books at the people she truly knew. Her health care aids have said that if she were not taken care of at her home, she would have been deceased long before this. Her younger brother, Gene, also a Vigor graduate, died on Thanksgiving 2006 and her sister, Sandy died on the 25 of June 2007 with Alzheimer's.

You should know that you will forever be in her heart.