CALLAO—Dorothy Jean “Sweets” Angel, 88, passed away peacefully September 14, 2020.
She was born in Adrian, Michigan, on September 15, 1931, to Arthur Woodby and her treasured mother, Oleta Livingston.
She married the love of her life, Leon Angel, on August 9, 1957, and shortly thereafter, they welcomed their only son, Michael Jonathan Angel Sr. who preceded her in death in 1994.
Raised in the rolling, country hills of Elizabethton, Tenn., Jean began her lifelong and faithful walk with Christ. Before retiring to the Northern Neck, she and her husband of 63 years, Leon, were residents of Arlington and Vienna.
Owning and operating her own florist, aptly named Jean Angel’s Florist, she was well-respected in the gardening and floral industries. She was extraordinarily talented and equipped with a creative mind truly ahead of her time. She contributed to the beauty of hundreds of weddings and events that included a rare White House wedding, which was a story she loved to share.
Jean was a member of the National Capital Orchid Society and the Five Hills Garden Club for decades. She would spend hours on end outdoors, enjoying her favorite pastime of gardening, and had the perfect green thumb.
Leon was, of course, the true love of her life, but her love of Elvis Presley and poodles came in tied for a close second.
Jean is survived by, and will be deeply missed by, her husband, Leon Angel; her grandchildren who she raised as her very own children, Michael Jonathan Angel Jr. of Callao and Kandice Angel (Marc Manlove) of Virginia Beach; her great-granddaughters, Emma Jean Angel and Aria Grace Manlove; sisters, Floyd Love Nave and Nina Sue Livingston, her very special sister-in-law Karen Livingston; nieces, Bettyann Peacoe, Annette Forgy, and Angela Livingston; nephews, Eric Williams, Stephen Livingston and John Michael Livingston; along with several great-nieces and nephews she loved dearly.
She also was preceded in death by siblings, Ronald Livingston, Rosemary Banner, and Glenn Livingston, and her treasured four-legged companions, Lady Bug, Amber and Ren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in her honor. Services were held at 3 p.m. Thursday, September 17, at National Memorial Cemetery in Falls Church.
Currie Funeral Home LLC of Kilmarnock handled the arrangements.
