Dorothy Mortensen photograph collection, 1970-2009

Dorothy Zackrison Mortensen (1916-2014) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 30, 1916 to Afton Randall and John Waldemar Zackrison. In 1933, she graduated from Granite High School. In 1936, she married Melvin L. Summerhays (1913-1999); they were later divorced. In 1963, she married Arlington Russell Mortensen (1911-1995). Dorothy Mortensen had four children and six stepchildren. An avid reader and scholar, Mortensen pursued college education through night classes for many years while raising her children and maintaining a day job. In 1968, at the age of 51, Mortensen graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor degree in History. Mortensen was the Managing Editor of Publications at the Utah State Historical Society. From 1970 to 1976, she worked in the correspondence section of the White House staff. During this time, she served as writer and editor for the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Dorothy Z. Mortensen died on December 29, 2014.