General News
27 August, 2026
Vale Dorothy 'Aunty Dot' Armstrong
Tributes flow for beloved Horsham woman Dorothy Armstrong, who passed away on Saturday, August 22, at 93. Affectionately known as ‘Aunty Dot’, she was admired across the Wimmera for her tireless community service, generosity, warmth, and most of all, her hugs.
Tributes flow for beloved Horsham woman Dorothy Armstrong, who passed away on Saturday, August 22, at 93.
Affectionately known as ‘Aunty Dot’, she was admired across the Wimmera for her tireless community service, generosity, warmth, and most of all, her hugs.
Mrs Armstrong was born on January 9, 1933, in Goroke and grew up in the small farming community of Karnak.
She always wanted to be a nurse, but had to leave school at 13 as her father wanted ‘Big old Bub’ to help out on the farm.
As a young girl, she had strabismus and was given a choice by her father: either have her eyes fixed or pursue nursing, and as a teenage girl, she chose to get her eyes fixed.
Mrs Armstrong’s unconditional love and passion for helping others were prominent from an early age.
When she was young, she had a prize bull who broke its leg, and the vet wanted to put it down. Mrs Armstrong’s determination wouldn’t let that happen, and she strung a harness around the bull's waist, pulling him up and hand-feeding him until his leg recovered.
She eventually sold the bull to a man near Portland, and the following year, it won the Champion Bull prize at the local show.
Mrs Armstrong met her husband, John ‘Jack’ Armstrong, at the Karnak Hall one evening.
After shearing his first hundred sheep, Jack celebrated at the Gymbowen pub; then kicked on to the Karnak Hall, where a mate of Jack’s met Mrs Armstrong and went back to Jack and said, “There's the woman you’re going to marry.”
Jack and Dorothy married on her 21st birthday in 1954.
They moved to Horsham in the 1970s, where she began work at the old Horsham Hospital as an on-call domestic cleaner.
She also worked for supermarkets doing in-store demonstrations for a period of time.
Mrs Armstrong was a long-serving member of the Salvation Army Horsham, involved in their Red Shield Appeal, Home League, Christmas Carols, and hospital visits.
She frequently visited patients in the Horsham Hospital and across the Wimmera with the Salvation Army and of her own accord, sometimes visiting up to three times a day.
Mrs Armstrong would wash, dry, and iron clothes at home for patients who weren’t from Horsham and didn’t have access to it themselves.
She gave hugs to patients, talked and listened to them, prayed, and gave out teddies.
Mrs Armstrong formed the ‘Teddy Bear Ministry’ when four new teddies were donated to the Salvation Army.
Following an accident, Mrs Armstrong took the bears to the children's ward to give them something to hug when a nurse asked if she could spare one for an elderly lady.
The woman hugged it close, and upon seeing the joy on her face, Mrs Armstrong started collecting teddy bears.
Her collection of preloved teddy bears encompassed donations from the Salvation Army Thrift Shop, Vinnies, and from garage sales, where she would take them home, repair and clean them, and hand them to patients on her hospital visits.
On one occasion at the Warracknabeal Hospital, she saw a big, burly man with a beard covered in tattoos and wandered into his room and started talking.
Seeing he was upset, she gave him one of her teddy bears and offered to pray for him.
Determined to keep up his tough persona, he scorned the offer and said, “If you want to.”
He then broke down crying, saying, “Nobody's ever prayed for me before.”
Some time after this interaction, Mrs Armstrong was at Nhill and all of a sudden the same man came running towards her and gave her a big bear hug, lifting her up off the ground, swinging her around, exclaiming, “Lady, your prayers are working!”
As recently as last Christmas, Mrs Armstrong was carolling with the Salvation Army in Roberts Avenue for their traditional fair with the Horsham City Band, drawing in passers-by for a hug and a chat.
Her service to the community was widely appreciated, often helping the Horsham Arts Council with many of their productions, providing refreshments and helping backstage.
It was with the Horsham Arts Council that she was bestowed the endearing name ‘Aunty Dot’ through baking bikkies for the cast and crew.
If you didn't find her handing out teddy bears at the hospital or at the Salvation Army, you could find Mrs Armstrong at the Horsham Plaza.
For more than 30 years, she hosted the competition box, conducted surveys, and operated the Plaster Funhouse during the school holidays with Jack.
Close friend Mark Radford fondly recalls how a walk down Horsham’s main street with Mrs Armstrong was never a quick outing, as every second person would stop to say hello to Mrs Armstrong and always got one of her hugs.
Her grand list of contributions to the community extends beyond the aforementioned to raising money for the Cancer Council’s Relay for Life multiple times, running classes on restoring teddy bears at primary schools, volunteering at a drop-in Christian centre at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and volunteering at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days.
She was awarded Horsham Citizen of the Year at Horsham’s Australia Day Citizen Awards in 2005 for her devotion and goodwill for people in need.
Unfortunately, in 2014, after 27 years of regular visits, washing clothes, and handing out teddy bears, Mrs Armstrong was told by management that her visits at the Horsham Hospital were unwelcome, having a devastating impact on her.
The community rallied around Mrs Armstrong during this time, creating a ‘Don’t Stop Dorothy Armstrong’ Facebook Page, showing strong community support in appreciation of her voluntary services.
Mrs Armstrong has always offered a caring and understanding hand to those in need, volunteering her time to help others.
Her selfless nature made her loved by all.
Ultimately, her adolescent aspirations of being a nurse, which she was denied in her younger years, found another outlet later in life with her involvement with so many people in the community.
Mrs Armstrong's family extends their gratitude to the aged care facilities in Rainbow, Natimuk, and Horsham, who cared for her with utmost dignity and recognised and catered for her needs towards the end of her life.
She passed away peacefully surrounded by family, now reunited with her late husband Jack, who passed away in 2017 after almost 63 years of marriage.
She will be sadly missed by all, and leaves behind her three children, Peter (PJ), Ian (Charlie), and daughter Glenny, as well as seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The Armstrong family kindly requests that those wanting to do so share their cherished memories of Mrs Armstrong by email to 179monastery@gmail.com, which will be compiled into a book for her grandchildren.
A funeral service for Dorothy Armstrong will be held at the Horsham Church of Christ on Monday, September 14, at 1 pm.