Dorothy Vekich and Frances Schoening protesting the Iraq War.

Dorothy Vekich passed over Dec. 30, 2005 at Mother Joseph’s Care Center in Olympia, Wash. Dorothy was widow of Max Vekich Sr., long-time dispatcher at longshore Local 24, Aberdeen, Wash. He preceded her in death in 1984.

Dorothy was past president and a founding member of the ILWU Ladies Auxiliary No. 2, Aberdeen. While she was president, the Ladies Auxiliary did volunteer work with the U.S. Air Force and were all awarded Ground Observer Corps Wings. This same period she helped Max raise money for the Harry Bridges legal defense fund. Her husband worked with Harry Bridges as a CIO organizer. They were a “Bridges” family.

Dorothy and Max were also founding members of the ILWU Local 24 Federal Credit Union. Dorothy served as president for 13 years—this when a lot of longshore families couldn’t get credit from a bank. The Credit Union just celebrated its 46th year. Dorothy had attended 45 of their annual meetings.

Being a dispatcher’s wife, she was used to calls in the middle of the night and on numerous occasions ended up calling replacements herself!

Dorothy had done munitions work during World War II as a government inspector. Her plant, Lamb Grays Harbor, and its workers, were awarded an “E” for excellence for their production of hand grenades and land mines.

Whereas Dorothy and Max, a U.S. Army veteran of the Pacific Theatre, contributed to the war against fascism and served their country proudly, they were not afraid to exercise their rights to protest a later, unjust war in Vietnam. Dorothy continued to oppose unjust wars to the end. With her auxiliary sister, Frances Schoening, also a
Local 24 widow, Dorothy participated in numerous protests of the Iraq war by Ladies in Black.

Political action was recognized as good for the union and country from the start in the Vekich household. Dorothy and Max worked to elect many pro-union Democrats, including their son, Max Vekich, Jr. With their support, he was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives. He is now a member of ILWU Local 52, Seattle clerks.

Dorothy was also active with the Twin Harbor’s ILWU Pensioners club, made up primarily of retirees and spouses from Local 24 and longshore Local 1 in Raymond, Wash.

Besides her son, Max, she is survived by four daughters. Linda Vincent, Berkeley, Calif.; Marcie Miller, San Diego; Andrea Vekich, Elma, Wash. and Coleen Vekich, Aberdeen, plus her four grandchildren who knew her as “Baba” (grandmother in Croatian).