Dory signs off after 35 years as voice of the community

By Joe Manio - Lethbridge Herald on April 17, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDjmanio@lethbridgeherald.com

After a long and storied career as a familiar face reporting the weather on CTV Lethbridge, Dory Rossiter retired on April 1st and it was no April Fool’s joke. Retirement, however, merely means clearing her schedule to make room for her passions: the military, music and community service.
Rossiter has been an honorary Lieutenant Colonel with the 20th Independent Field Battery – Royal Canadian Artillery since 2022. Her band, The Traveling Will-Dorys has three upcoming gigs, and she currently sits on 11 committees. She is also working on her autobiography, and has no time for retirement.
“It’s a redistribution of time,” Rossiter said, reflecting on her longevity on CTV. “It was great to be a female on the air every day for 35 years (in a field) where people come and go.”
On March 14, Rossiter received the prestigious King Charles the III Coronation Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to a particular Canadian province, territory, region or community, or has attained an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to our country.
At her westside home hang two framed Keys to the City of Lethbridge, one from 2008 and one from 2011, something no other person has, nor is supposed to have. The second one was a “clerical error,” accidentally awarded by a different mayor. A case can be made, however, that Rossiter has earned both of them.
Her list of professional and personal achievements, community service and other noble endeavors takes up four single-spaced pages. Over 35 years, Rossiter has been a member of 60 different committees. Her passion for volunteering and encouraging others to volunteer, led to her being named “Citizen of the Year.”
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, her father was a career military man which meant numerous moves across Canada and four years in Germany. She was an only child and loved to read, sing and learn. As a former “military brat,” accepting an honorary commission was a natural fit and easy decision when she was recruited by the 20th Independent Field Battery.
If anything, Rossiter is a trouper who soldiers on. In September 2024, she was hospitalized with what she thought was a knee injury. Upon further examination doctor’s determined it was a spine injury that would need surgery, which was scheduled for the New Year. Despite having to use crutches, Rossiter placed a wreath on the Cenotaph during Remembrance Day observances.
After having her surgery in January 2025, Rossiter spent time recovering, intending to return to CTV. She says she’s now nearly 100% recovered. When she announced her retirement, many thought it was because of her surgery, which was not the case.
“I told myself I’m going to go back,” she says. “Because I was feeling so good, I decided to move on to other things.”
Her career of 35 years in broadcasting has afforded her the opportunity to be a voice for those in the community who think they have none, and to use her position to highlight issues and causes that have touched her and many others in the community.
In her retirement, you can find Rossiter continuing to serve the community. As for her autobiography, which she has titled “Dory’s Story,” she hopes to inspire others to achieve their dreams.
“You can achieve a long-term dream, by taking chances and opening doors,” she says.

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