Dorothy Steinbis Davis was born on a farm homesteaded by her grandparents in Tulare, South Dakota. She spent her youth there and later attended and graduated from the School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, and also has a degree in business management from the University of Maryland.

She served from February 1944 to February 1946 in the Army Nurse Corps, 57th Field Hospital, providing medical support to the casualties of the Central Europe Campaign, Battle of the Bulge, Colmar Pocket, Rhineland Campaign, and prisoner of war camps. The hospital received the Meritorious Unit Citation for its support of combat wounded during the period of the Battle of the Bulge.

Dorothy is a charter member of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, has held organizational and executive positions with that organization, and is presently the Corresponding Secretary. She is the Past President of the Battle of the Bulge Historical Foundation and now serves as its Executive Officer, providing administrative assistance in collecting and preserving the history of the Battle of the Bulge and the development of the Battle of the Bulge Memorial Conference Room at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. She has served in American Red Cross volunteer leadership assignments and is the National Volunteer Consultant for Military and Social Services, American Red Cross.

Among the honors Dorothy has received is the Edith Cavell Nurses Medal by the Belgian Red Cross for her participation in the care of the wounded of the Battle of the Bulge. She was also selected as an Honorary Fellow and Curator by the U.S. Military History Institute and has twice been presented with the Clara Barton Honors Award by the American Red Cross for Meritorious Volunteer Leadership.

Dorothy was married to the late Colonel William V. Davis and accompanied him on assignments in the United States as well as Yokohama, Japan; Verdun, France; and Stuttgart, Germany. She has three daughters and two granddaughters and lives in Rockville, Maryland.