Doris Helen Frohnsdorff

Doris Helen Frohnsdorff (née Keen), 89, of Charleston, South Carolina, died of heart failure Thursday, August 25, 2022, at Roper Hospital in Charleston. Mrs. Frohnsdorff, a retired dealer in rare children’s books, was an active member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) during the 1970s and ‘80s, issuing catalogues regularly and participating in book fairs throughout North America and the United Kingdom. She at one time served on the ABAA’s board of governors. After leaving the ABAA, she began dealing in antiques, but gradually stopped selling and came to focus more on her various collecting interests, including portrait miniatures and vintage scarves. Her unparalleled collection of Beatrix Potter first editions, artwork, letters, and other rare material drew international interest when it was sold at Christie’s East in New York in 1997.

Born July 11, 1933, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mrs. Frohnsdorff was the daughter of Edward Peter Keen and Nellie Keen (née Dunk). Her early years were spent primarily in Winnipeg and Vancouver, British Columbia. She attended Rupert’s Land Girls’ School in Winnipeg and Kitsilano High School in Vancouver before enrolling at the University of Manitoba, where she studied fine arts.

After a period of employment with the T. Eaton Company in Winnipeg, Mrs. Frohnsdorff in 1955 traveled to Europe with a friend, touring several countries before settling in London. She had met her future husband, Geoffrey James Carl Frohnsdorff, on the Queen Elizabeth during the transatlantic crossing, and they married in August 1956. Their two older children were born in London. In 1959, Mrs. Frohnsdorff and her family moved to Kingston, Ontario, where another child was born. The family moved to Riverside, California, in 1960.

In Riverside, Mrs. Frohnsdorff continued her interest in the arts, both by painting and through volunteer work with various arts guilds. Always a collector, she developed an interest in rare books in the mid-1960s, and she and her friend Gail Klemm opened The Antiquarian Bookshop in Riverside in 1967, becoming among the first dealers to specialize in rare children’s books. The shop closed in 1969. Mrs. Frohnsdorff and her family moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 1970. Her marriage ended in divorce in 1989, and she remained in Gaithersburg until her move to Charleston in 2019.

In her younger days, Mrs. Frohnsdorff was an accomplished badminton player, winning several tournaments and a provincial championship in Manitoba. Later she played tennis recreationally, helping to organize Montgomery Village’s junior league in Gaithersburg in the early 1970s. When her athletic days were behind her, she continued to enjoy many things, including the works of Agatha Christie and Rex Stout, the films of Fred Astaire, the music of Mendelssohn and British singer George Formby, and the television game show Jeopardy!, on which she had been a contestant in 1973.
Having overcome late-stage ovarian cancer more than twenty years ago, Mrs. Frohnsdorff fully appreciated the final years of her life and above all enjoyed time spent with her family.

Mrs. Frohnsdorff is survived by her son, Gregory James Carl Frohnsdorff, of Charleston, and his wife, Susan; her daughter, Katharine Anne Carney, of Arlington, Virginia, and her husband, Patrick; her daughter, Elizabeth Susan Conolly, of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, and her husband, Paul; and four grandchildren: Gillian Frohnsdorff, of Santa Ana, California; Ryan Carney, of Arlington, Virginia; Duncan Conolly, of Herndon, Virginia; and Alexandra Conolly, of Surfside Beach, South Carolina. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Ella Joan Palmer; and her brothers, Earl Dennis Keen and Edward Murray Keen.

Mrs. Frohnsdorff's Funeral Service will be held 1:00 PM, Saturday, October 22, 2022 at Grace Church Cathedral, 98 Wentworth Street, Charleston. Inurnment will follow at Grace Church Columbarium. A reception will follow at Hanahan Hall.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation to the American Cancer Society, the American Association for Cancer Research, or another organization dedicated to cancer research and prevention.

Arrangements by JAMES A. MCALISTER, INC. (843) 766-1365.