Dottie Lou (Crisp) James

Dottie Lou (Crisp) James was born May 6, 1938, to Nora (Zirschky) Crisp and George Crisp in Manes, and passed away Jan. 29, 2026, at Century Pines in Ozark. She was the first daughter in a family of 13. She grew up in Manes and lived in Mountain Grove for 65 years. Except for her salvation through Christ, her greatest joy was her marriage to Ervin James. They married on June 12, 1960, and together raised two children, Debbie and Larry. Dottie was actively involved at Southside Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and worked in the kitchen as well as cleaning the church. Dottie worked for 33 years at Brown Shoe Company. After Ervin’s death in 2007, she volunteered many hours at the Mountain Grove crisis center where she was always eager to help everyone that came in. She had a special place in her heart for children and loved teaching at church and watching her nieces and nephews grow into adults. She loved gardening and you could find her in her yard on most days. She had a green thumb and loved her flowers. Rest and relaxation were not in her vocabulary. Her favorite day was a serving of ice cream (maybe two), someone to visit with, and a garage sale. Although she enjoyed her trips to Texas and California to visit her family, she was always glad when she made it home again.
Dottie was preceded in death by both parents; siblings, Dale, Buddy, Georgie Jr., Gene, Johnny Dean and Alice Strong Altis; and grandchildren, Derrick James and Victoria Donovan. Dottie is survived by one daughter, Deborah Donovan, of Mountain Grove; one son, Larry James (Janet), of Mountain Grove; grandchildren, Anthony Brown (Jennifer), of Murphy, Texas; Shawn James, of Mountain Grove; Shane James (Jennifer), of Mountain Grove; and Lindi James, of Greely, Colo.; 14 great-grandchildren, Matthew, Michael Brown, Skylar, Luke, Jacob, Nathan, Bailee, Ashton, Michael James, Dakota, Alexis, Kendra, Kane and Ayla; six great-great grandchildren, sisters Phyllis French, of Mountain Grove; Audra Jackson, of Mountain Grove; Judy Turner, of Manes, and Susie McKee, of Cabool; sister-in-law, Carol Crisp, of Mountain Grove; brothers, Eldon Crisp (Deena), of Manes, and Paul Crisp, of Manes; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation for Dottie James will be held from 1-2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, with funeral service immediately following at 2 p.m. in the Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home of Mountain Grove. Burial will be in the Hillcrest Cemetery under the direction of the Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home. Online Condolences: www.craighurttfuneralhome.com.