Dorothy Maud West was born in 1914 to Lewis Victor West and Ellen (Richardson) West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

On September 25, 1943 she married Evender "Wallace" Vanderlip from Brantford, Ontario. They settled near the Rouge River in Pickering area. Dorothy and Wallace had two boys - Richard and Robert and four grandchildren Ian, Todd, Joshua and Cailin. Dorothy enjoyed bridge and Wallace bowled frequently. in 1961, Wallace was the superintendent of the Sunday School at the Rouge Hill United Church.

Wallace died at the end of 1990 and was buried in Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Cemetery in Scarborough. Dorothy moved to Kincardine where she died in 1994.