Dorothy (Dokes) Kobey Berry Papers

Dorothy (Dokes) Kobey Berry was born in Aspen, Colorado in 1905, the fifth of seven children of Leah Sheffel Kobey and Harris Kobey. Leah and Harris Kobey honeymooned in Aspen in 1898 and settled there soon after. Dorothy Kobey’s father and his brothers owned stores in Aspen, including the Kobey Shoe and Clothing Store. Dokes Kobey and her six siblings lived with her uncle, Ben Kobey, after their mother died and Harris Kobey left for the East Coast. The Kobey families were among the dozen or so Jewish families in Aspen when Dokes Kobey was growing up. The mining town of Aspen was a close-knit community and, despite being Jewish, she and her siblings attended functions with non-Jewish children, including activities at the Episcopal and Methodist churches. Dokes Kobey taught at a county school in Cow Creek, outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, after her graduation from Aspen High School. She moved to Denver with her siblings in 1924 after receiving a scholarship to the University of Denver. In 1927 she married Nathan Berry, a shoe salesman who worked at her uncle's Kobey Shoe Store in downtown Denver, Colorado. They raised three children, Harold, Joan, and Susan. Dokes Kobey Berry died in Denver on February 24, 2009 at the age of 103.