Athlete and Activist Dotty Di Cintio Passes Away at 83

Dorothy (Dotty) Lowenstein Di Cintio, a passionate advocate for social justice and talented athlete and teacher, passed away on March 15 2015. She was 83. She is survived by her husband Domenick V Di Cintio, children Terri Di Cintio, Debra Di Cintio, Bruce Di Cintio, and Brian Di Cintio, their spouses and children, and her older brother Lawrence Lowenstein.

Born in New York on Sept 7, 1931 to Gabriel and Florence Lowenstein, Ms. Di Cintio attended The Fieldston School before heading to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was a gifted tennis player and golfer, and at age 19 was a semi-finalist in the Women's Metropolitan Golf Association Championship in New York. She also competed in numerous regional and national women's golf events through the years. After college, she continued her involvement in sports, coaching and teaching golf, paddle tennis, and tennis through the Scarsdale Department of Recreation, Scarsdale Golf Club and as a volunteer at several Westchester schools and organizations for special needs children. She was often spotted driving her convertible around Scarsdale where she taught hundreds if not thousands of children and adults to play tennis and paddle tennis. She was always patient and encouraging.

Ms. Di Cintio also was a tennis coach at The Horace Mann School for 30 years where she led the boys team to eight Mayors Cup titles. "Dottie had an extraordinary influence on so many boys and girls over the years," said Chris Lacopo, 8th Grade Dean and the current Coach of the Boys Tennis Team at Horace Mann. "She was probably the most distinctive person most of these kids have been around."

While at Horace Mann, Dorothy spearheaded efforts to raise funds for orphan children whose parents died from AIDS. Over a decade, her efforts generated over $80,000 in donations to the Maru-a-Pula School in Botswana, one of Africa's premier academic institutions. She joined the board of directors of the American Friends of Maru-a-Pula (AFMAP) in 2009. "Dottie introduced me to all manner of people who shared a love of action, of change and reform. She was constantly generating ripples of hope among her friends and colleagues and I feel lucky to have been part of one of the many causes that she saw fit to support," said Andrew Taylor, Principal of the Maru-a-Pula.

Outside of sports, Dorothy's other passion was politics. She was extremely active in Democratic politics in Scarsdale and White Plains and was involved in numerous charitable organizations. Her brother, the late Congressman Allard K. Lowenstein, was an internationally known civil rights, human rights, and Democratic activist, and Ms. Di Cintio was actively involved in many of his initiatives in these fields. "Aunt Dot was one of the most selfless individuals I have ever known," said nephew Douglas Lowenstein. "She had a deep wellspring of empathy for those battling to get a leg up in our society, and for those battling to overcome long odds, whether they be social, economic, or physical. I don't think they staged a march in Washington for peace, for justice, for equal rights or for gun control that Aunt Dot didn't join. She just cared about people and our society very deeply."

No funeral is planned. The family asks that donations be made in Dorothy's name to the Lowenstein Human Rights Project at the Yale University School of Law.