Dorothy (Dot) Jurukov

Dorothy (Dot) Jurukov

(May 13, 1922- June 17, 2011)

Dorothy (Dot) Jurukov passed away at the age of 89 on June 17 at Ardenville in Burbank after a valiant, seven year battle against Alzheimer’s disease. She is survived by her husband Andon, her daughter Carla Walker, and her son-in-law Bill Walker.

Dot was born during the “Roaring Twenties” in the town of Clifton, Kentucky to first-generation German parents: Carl and Freda Nasse. She was also welcomed into the world by five adoring aunts who couldn’t wait to teach her the Charleston, which eventually inspired Dot’s love of music. Her music education was eclectic focusing on classical, light opera and symphony.

Her mother loved music and singing and taught Dot many songs from “The Gay Nineties”. She attended her first opera at the age of four and was an opera devotee for the rest of her life. In her twilight years Dot would serve on the Glendale Community Concerts Association Board and became an active member of the Women’s Committee of the Glendale Symphony Orchestra.

After a move to Norwood, Ohio in 1927, Dot entered Kindergarten and her life-long love of learning began. Years later, Dot completed her lower division work at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and later received her High School English Teaching Credential at the University of Cincinnati. After a move to Southern California, she completed graduate work at Occidental College and UCLA.

Dot loved education so much that she spent 42 years of her life teaching at Franklin and Fremont elementary schools in the Glendale Unified School District. Her love of educating inspired her daughter Carla to follow in her footsteps eventually ascending into her current position as Principal of Valley View Elementary, a fact that Dot proudly shared with anyone and everyone.

While attending a Bulgarian dance in Los Angeles, she met the “love of her life”, Andon.

They were married for 46 years and spent many of them fulfilling their joint dream of seeing as much of this world as humanly possible. As a result, they visited every continent (except Antarctica) and counted Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, China, Japan, and Thailand among their favorite foreign destinations.

After retiring from teaching in 1988, Dot began a new chapter in her life. She joined the PEO Sisterhood and served a three-year term as President of Chapter KO. She also was awarded a 50 year Honorary Life Membership from the Glendale branch of the American Association of University Women as well as recognized as an Honorary Life Member Award of the California Council of the PTA. Dot was also a member of the Glendale Women’s Civic League and the Glendale Branch of California Retired Teachers.

Dot’s interests were varied: She loved socializing, entertaining, needlepoint, crossword puzzles, scrabble, caring for her beloved Cairn Terriers, decorating for the holidays, traveling, and spending time with her countless friends. Her passion was playing Bridge, witnessed by the fact she was an active participant in four bridge groups!

Dot was also a very enthusiastic reader and participated in many discussion groups, often presenting book reviews to various groups. She also loved art and was a member of the Los Angeles County and San Diego County Museums of Art. When traveling, a stop at a museum as a must for her! Dot often commented about her wonderfully blessed and interesting life with no regrets.

A celebration of the life of Dorothy “Dot” Jurukov will be held at the Church of the Recessional, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale, on Thursday, July 14 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Dot’s memory to the USC Health Sciences Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s Department of Neurology: Ste 643, 1510 San Pablo Street, MC-9206, Los Angeles, CA 90033.