Dolores Callahan Viktorin

Dolores Callahan Viktorin, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt (affectionately, “Aunt Doe”), cousin and friend, passed away peacefully on February 12th at the age of 89. After a life guided by a devout and unwavering faith and belief in God and her Catholic upbringing she’s now resting comfortably in Heaven. Dolores was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Frank, parents Earl and Lucy Callahan, brother Pat Callahan, sister Alethea McNair, father-in-law Frank Viktorin, mother-in-law Marcella Viktorin and several other family members.

Born June 16, 1931 in Rockne, Texas to Earl and Lucy, Dolores was the second of eight children. Earl was well-respected and widely admired in central Texas - a farmer, rancher, cattleman, businessman, Bastrop County commissioner for 18 years and founder of Capitol Feed and Milling and the Austin institution, Callahan’s General Store. Lucy was a tireless homemaker responsible for making ends meet while raising a family of 10 in a tiny house/cabin consisting of four total rooms with minimal amenities where a combined boys and girls bedroom was separated by a curtain and the family toilet consisted of an outhouse. As the oldest daughter and with a fast-growing family, it wasn’t long after Dolores had outgrown her baby shoes that she began handling and assisting her mother with a number of tasks including cooking, gardening, cleaning, sewing and everything in between. While her hands were always full, so was Dolores’ heart and her desire to help. It was that spirit, togetherness and unity so deeply embedded within the Callahan family that enabled everyone to successfully turn a very small house into a warm, happy and tight-knit home.

Dolores attended Catholic school in Rockne through the 8th grade, spent two years at Bastrop High and then graduated high school in 1949 from St. Mary’s Academy in Austin. In that same year, she met the love of her life, Frank, and they married on July 4, 1951 in Rockne. The two of them traveled throughout Texas and the southeastern United States as Frank served in the Air Force and then in the oil supply business. Much of their early married years, along with their first three children (Mark, Gary and Debbie), was spent in a 27-foot-long trailer which, while cozy to say the least, proved to be necessarily mobile given Frank’s job requirements. The family, with additional children Bobby and Brian, moved to south Austin in 1966 when Frank took over his father’s house moving company. Dolores managed the financial side of his successful business for 26 years until Frank retired in 1992. As importantly, she was his loving companion, cornerstone and anchor in understanding his needs, enabling his strengths and helping address his weaknesses until his passing in 2007.

Dolores was instrumental in the opening of the Callahan’s General Store north location in Cedar Park and also owned businesses of her own along the way, including an exotic bird business, cake decorating company and a liquor store. She was on the Del Valle ISD school board for several terms, was a decades-long parishioner at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church and served on its board and women’s club along with volunteering in other community organizations. Dolores never turned her back on any charitable cause that came asking and often sought to help many that didn’t ask. Giving and contributing were never a question; more so, they were a necessity.

Along the way, while she rarely drank and didn’t smoke, Dolores wasn’t completely devoid of “vices”, including Dr. Pepper, Wheel of Fortune binge watching, pretty much anything sweet and occasional visits to casinos (along with more-than-occasional disparaging words for any slot machine that didn’t pay off). After Frank’s death, she lived in the Onion Creek neighborhood for nine years and then in an adjacent retirement community until her passing. After having lived in a rural area for many years Dolores treasured new and numerous friendships and the resulting good times experienced in the last years of her life.

With Dolores’ passing we’ll miss her sage advice (solicited or not), warm hugs and embraces, infectious smile and laughter, genuinely deep sense of caring and compassion and sharp tongue and opinions (again, solicited or not). We’ll miss her green thumb along with macaroni and cheese, meat loaf, brownies, cakes and just about everything else she touched in the kitchen. We’ll miss her determined and outspoken nature combined with a sincerely supportive and encouraging attitude, and her high expectations tempered by a sensitive and understanding demeanor. Simply put, we will miss Dolores and miss her greatly.

There has and always will be debate about what constitutes a good life but most every definition includes being loved by many and providing an abundance of love in return. And to the latter, Dolores embraced, nurtured and cherished everything about family — to her it was where life began and love never ended. She firmly believed that family was the foundation and basis of all that is good and that when we have each other, we then have everything. Dolores never hesitated to tell her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren how proud she was of them and how dearly they were loved. While nothing will replace the deep sorrow and heavy hearts we feel from her passing, we are eternally grateful for this love and will forever cherish the countless number of smiles, vast amounts of happiness and the numerous memories Dolores gave all of us. In the end, those are some of the greatest gifts a person can leave behind on earth. We are so very thankful that she deeply enriched our lives for many, many years.

The family extends its heartfelt gratitude to all of Dolores’ physicians and especially Chad Noyes from Three Oaks Hospice for his compassionate care. A very special thanks goes out to John Redford, Kathy Garza and the other kind and wonderful staff at Village on the Park at Onion Creek. Above and beyond, thank you Debbie for being more than a great daughter to Mom. You were a tireless and devoted caretaker so instrumental in enhancing her wellbeing and quality of life especially over the last several years.

Celebrating Dolores’ life and mourning her passing are brothers Murray, Verlin (wife Jonelle), Jimmy (wife Fran), sisters Leona Wilson (husband Virgil) and Leora McCarthy, sisters-in-law Paula Kay Callahan and Dorothy Klepac; sons Mark (wife Lee Ann), Gary (wife Debbie), Bobby (wife Carol), Brian (wife Megan) and daughter Debbie Booher (husband Steve); grandchildren Jeff (wife Tara), Kim Batchelor (husband Colton), Jenny Stevenson (husband Ross), Marcella, Kirby Shallue (husband Tommy), Emily Ayer, Erin Schneider (husband Chris), Caroline and Tyler, and great grandchildren Olivia, Parker, Gracie, Julia, Madison, Connor, Hunter, Smith and Jordan. Dolores is also survived by many cousins and friends and countless nephews and nieces. (Literally, we could not count them all.)

Visitation for Dolores will be February 22nd from 10:00 am - 7:00 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home on South Congress. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated the following day by the Very Rev. Christopher Ferrer at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. Dolores will then be laid to rest next to Frank in Assumption Cemetery in Austin. The family respectfully asks that those wishing to pay their respects to Dolores in person do so at the visitation. Due to COVID precautions the Mass and burial will be for immediate family members only.

Memorial donations in Dolores’ memory may be made to the Catholic Diocese of Austin, St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Austin or the church of your choice.