A woman of remarkable organizational talent passed away Nov. 7 at home in Summerset I while being cared for by loving relatives and hospice workers doing their best to make her final days as comfortable as possible.

Dorothy Reta Huber was claimed by pancreatic cancer at the age of 72 after surviving an earlier bout with breast cancer. A person of extraordinary energy and spirit, she will be greatly missed by a multitude of friends and acquaintances, especially those involved in the Summerset Kare Bears organization she founded in 1995, and others she influenced during her extensive charitable activities.

Dorothy's sister, who lived in an Arizona setting similar to Summerset, introduced her to the Kare Bears concept of providing help to residents of a senior community needing temporary assistance. Dorothy took the concept and ran with it in Summerset I, where the program acted as a paradigm for others. With her help, all four Summerset communities embraced the Kare Bears initiative and formed organizations in their own neighborhoods. To raise money for Kare Bears expenses, Dorothy and others held High Teas, Fashion Shows and, more recently, Sip & Stroll wine tasting/restaurant sampling events.

"Dorothy was an absolute go-getter," said her step-daughter Linda Fuller. "She had a way of working with others to really get things done." Dorothy's friend and colleague, Donna Coker, said of Dorothy, "She was beautiful on the inside as well as the outside - she had such a great influence on so many."

But Dorothy didn't stop after introducing Kare Bears. She mentored women with breast cancer and went on to establish Summerset at Brentwood Charities, an organization that held fund-raising golf tournaments, Holiday Home tours and Christmas balls to benefit local organizations. She got the idea of holding an annual Home Tour from Linda Hitchens, a former Summerset I activity director.

Under Dorothy's guidance and inspiration, Summerset at Brentwood Charities raised and distributed close to $175,000 over 10 years. Organizations receiving donations included the Brentwood Senior Center, Brentwood Police Activities League, Sutter Delta Medical Center, The Liberty Union High School Educational Foundation, The American Cancer Society and many more. A City of Brentwood Proclamation honoring Dorothy's work and the work of her Summerset at Brentwood Charities colleagues was presented to her by then Vice Mayor Annette Beckstrand in 2004.

When the Summerset at Brentwood Charities gavel was passed on to others, Dorothy became a director of the Delta Memorial Hospital Foundation, where she ran the Save A Life Sister program that provides free mammogram services to at-risk women. Finally, she became too ill to continue.

Huber was born Aug. 8, 1934 in San Francisco and is survived by Bill Huber, her husband of 51 years, four children, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Before moving to Brentwood from Burlingame, Dorothy worked for 28 years at Peninsula Hospital, where she ran the Medical Records and Personnel departments. Married in 1955, the couple honeymooned at a brand-new theme park named Disneyland. Huber was interred at the Sacramento Valley VA National Cemetery in Dixon. A private memorial service took place for close friends and relatives.