Dorothy Kriley worked, kept a home and family, and volunteered for charities

When folks went to have a prescription filled or ask a medication-related question of a pharmacist in the late 1940s and 1950s, they probably expected to deal with a man.

But customers who patronized Prescription Pharmacy on Center Avenue in those days dealt with the professional and compassionate Dorothy Kriley, who served the Butler area as a pharmacist for 50 years before retiring in 1998.Kriley, a lifelong resident of Butler County, died Thursday at 94. Kriley co-owned the pharmacy at a time when most women were at home raising a family.But Kriley did that too.Her son Mike, one of five children of Dorothy and the late Regis Kriley, said the story goes that his mother was determined to attend college after graduating from Butler High School in 1948.“I'm pretty sure her father told her 'I don't want you to go to college' and she said 'I'm going,'” Mike said.To prove her point, Kriley finished pharmacy school in just three years and earned her certification.

While she attended classes at the University of Pittsburgh, Mike said his mother, who stood 4 feet 11 inches tall, played on the women's basketball team.“She showed me a picture one time,” Mike said.He said there were times when he would not see his mother for a week, as she worked in the evening at the pharmacy or had a meeting with one of the many charities where she volunteered, and he went to bed early because he was a member of the Butler High swim team.“There were times that I rarely saw my mom,” Mike said without a trace of bitterness in his voice.He explained that the family ate many meals prepared in the early morning by Kriley and simmered all day in a crockpot.Or, Kriley, the former Dorothy DeFoggia, would make lasagna on the weekend and freeze trays of the Italian delicacy. If no dinner was planned for the family, she would pull out a tray to thaw in the morning and pop it into the oven in the evening.“And that was our dinner,” Mike said.He said he admired his mother and misses her greatly.

“She was one of the most compassionate people I've ever known,” Mike said. “She never had a bad word about anybody. She was very giving and loving also.”Sister Nancy Schnur, a pastoral associate with the Butler Area Catholic Parishes, worked closely with Kriley at St. Michael the Archangel Church on Center Avenue.She said Kriley helped with the bereavement group, volunteered at community dinners, donated and helped sort and distribute clothes to needy neighbors of the church and was a member of the church's ladies guild.“I think I would sum up her life by saying she was a very caring person for her church, her family and the community of Butler,” Schnur said. “She just loved everybody. If she could help you, she would be there to do whatever she could.”Gail Paserba knew Kriley through Soroptimists International, from whom Kriley received the Woman of Distinction in the Community Award in 2006.She also was named YWCA Woman of the Year in 1991 and AAUW Woman of the Year in 1996. Kriley volunteered with or held leadership positions with more than 10 charitable organizations in Butler County.“She was a very passionate woman,” Paserba said. “Her love for her community was obvious at all times.”She said Kriley had an incredible work ethic, was extremely interesting to chat with and broke the glass ceiling as a professional woman in a man's world.“She opened doors for me, and for you, and for everyone,” Paserba said.She said other women could look at Kriley and know they could pursue their dreams.“She could do it all,” Paserba said.

Dorothy Kriley