Dorothy was born in Spokane, Washington in 1914. Once she was married, Dorthy learned to play pool from her husband who managed billiard parlors in several cities around the West Coast. At the time billiards was still mainly a male dominated sport and so, when Dorothy first started playing pool professionally there were few national tournaments for women.
Dorothy was involved in many local and state tournaments awaiting an opportunity to further her billiard career. In 1967 the BCA staged the first National tournament for women. Dorothy husband Jimmy, watched her win the first national championship that year but died later that same year. She won and kept winning for the next five years. Losing the title in 1972 when she played in the finals against 13-year-old child prodigy Jean Balukas.
Dorthy became a member of the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1981 becoming the first woman to be made a member.