Dorothy Polley

Dorothy Elizabeth Reaves Polley of Lorena will be memorialized in services at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, September 21, at Pecan Grove Funeral Home, 3124 Robinson Drive, Waco, with Pastor Stephen Stanford officiating. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service beginning at 9:00am, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Clover Hill Cemetery in Lott. Dorothy passed away September 13, 2023, with her family by her side.
Dorothy Polley was born on July 1, 1924, to Luther and Ruby Reaves of Lott, TX. She graduated from Lott High School in 1941, attended business school, worked for an insurance company for 4 years and then for the U.S. Postal Service in Lott, Lorena, and Hewitt, TX until her retirement in 1985. She married Herbert Polley on April 12, 1953 and settled in the Lorena area where she raised a family and was active in the family farming business. Dorothy Polley was a long-time member of Lorena and Cottonwood Baptist Churches where she taught Sunday School classes until her 90th year and served as director of Women’s Mission and other organizations. ‘Ma’ and ‘Aunt Dorothy’ was a beloved matriarch to her extended family having frequently hosted family gatherings and reunions. Over the decades, she prepared countless meals for extended family, church gatherings, and 3 growing boys using produce from her own garden and ranch. Dorothy Polley was an accomplished seamstress, quilter, and crocheter. She published a history of the city of Lott and surrounding communities in Falls County, Texas, during her 91st year. Despite all her accomplishments, ‘Ma’ Dorothy regarded her faithful reflection of the love and care of her savior Jesus Christ to family, church, and community as her greatest legacy.
Dorothy Polley is preceded in death by her parents, sisters Bennie Ruth Reaves and Esther Schrader, and beloved husband of 57 years. She is survived by her three sons, Wayne and wife Jeri Polley of Evans, CO, David and wife Nancy Polley of Lorena, TX, and Lloyd and wife Ricci Polley of Aquilla, TX, six grandchildren Melissa and husband Michael Kelsey, Laura and husband Austin Crider, and Nicholas, Gregory, Sarah, and Luke Polley, six great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The family is eternally grateful to Catherine Noel and Ana and Denise Trayler for the selfless and loving care extended ‘Ma’ Dorothy during her final years, and hospice and Visiting Angels for their care in her last weeks.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Cottonwood Baptist Church, 890 FM 2643, Lorena, TX 76555 or Clover Hill Cemetery, Box 326, Lott, TX 76656.