Dori Sue Kavorkian

Dori Sue Kavorkian passed away peacefully to heaven on January 30th, 2023 after she bravely battled an intense six year fight with Cancer. She was born on February 18, 1968 to Georgia Kirka and Jack Holt in Upland, California. Dori was also loved and cared for by her faithful step parents Alan Baker and Paula Holt. She was the proud graduate of the University of Riverside, where she earned a bachelors degree majoring in Dance. She is survived by her passionate daughter Alison Dunning, her committed son Matthew Kavorkian, loving son-in-law Andrew Dunning, and carefree granddaughter Brooklyn Joy Dunning, as well as her devoted husband George Kavorkian.  She is also survived by her mother Georgia Baker, father and stepmother Jack and Paula Holt as well as sister and brother-in-law Pepper and Mike Mcdade.

Her radiant personality was guided by steadfast values, and her focuses in life were many. She pursued them all with a compassionate sense of humor, as a caring friend who others treasured, as a loving and caring daughter, as an adoring and devoted parent, and as a committed and giving life partner a spouse could only dream for.

Dori was a person who always had a smile and whose character lifted every spirit she touched. She had a passion for teaching and excelled in teaching dance, barre, and personal health training for the majority of her life. Later in life, she owned, operated, and grew a family-owned art business. She was able to enhance and touch the lives of many kids and patrons with her creativity, insight, talent, and helping manner for many years.

Family was her main focus, and she worried about and took care of them all until her passing, sometimes to the exclusion of her own needs. She truly felt blessed to help nurture her granddaughter, Brooklyn Joy, who she loved so deeply. Her kids Alison and Matthew were the true joys of her life, and she was connected to them like a mama bear, committed to them completely and often saying “do not mess with my kids or be prepared to face the wrath of mama bear.” She provided them with everything they could have ever wanted or needed, for which they are forever grateful.

Dori was a passionate individual who loved to give of herself to family and friends. She valued loyalty, honesty, and authenticity. She believed that everyone needed to be kind to one another, and that if you did not have anything nice to say you should not say anything at all. She had an amazing sense of humor and a beautiful laugh! Her wit was razor sharp and she was known to say what she felt with little varnish. She made her whole family laugh with her outrageous and exaggerated facial expressions. She was kind, generous and compassionate. She believed in autonomy and dignity, and a person’s right to choose the life they want. She was fiercely independent and private.

Dori will be greatly missed by all those she continues to watch over. Our hearts are so broken by her loss. She was one-of-a-kind, and to be loved by her was to be truly blessed.