Dolores Faye Karst

Dolores Faye Lott was born on May 19,1927 in Orlando, Florida, the first and only child of Arthur Lott and Jewel Lomax, thereafter Jewel Lott. When Dolores was about to enter high school, she and her mother moved to Los Angeles, California where Dolores attended Hollywood High. She often recalled concerts in the Hollywood Bowl featuring the jazz greats of the era. Dolores attended Oregon State, returning to Orlando the following year.

For a short time, Dolores worked “at the switchboard” of her father’s business, Orlando Armature Works in downtown Orlando. Her mother, “MeeMee” to Dolores’ eventual children, was an expert seamstress and worked in a high fashion dress shop, also in downtown Orlando.

Dolores met Chester Karst, her husband to be, at a dance held at the Dubsdread County Club while he was on leave from the Armed Service. They wrote love letters until the war ended when Chester and his several brothers, also returning from WWII, joined their father, Emil Karst, in a newly formed citrus management business, Karst Inc.

As an only child, Dolores found Chester’s two sisters, four brothers and Kansas transplant parents with a farming background quite a change of pace. After a courtship, Dolores, now 21 years old, informed the 29-year-old Chester that she would not marry him after he turned 30! The wedding occurred shortly thereafter.

While driving around Orlando, Dolores discovered a beautiful empty lot in what had been an orange grove. It was near Karst Inc’s office on the Old Winter Garden Road in West Orlando and Chester agreed it was right, so they bought the lot. With help from a few buddies and a few experts, Chester built their home by hand, expanding and changing it during the 50 years they would live there with their soon-to arrive five children.

An ever-growing number of couples with young children moved into this cove aside the Orlando Country Club and a small, close-knit “50s” neighborhood evolved. There was always a ball game in a back yard, or kids racing into kitchens to grab freshly baked cookies or a sleep over. Mothers alternated carpooling their younger children to school in wood-paneled station wagons and created parties for them for birthdays to high school graduation celebrations.

Dolores and Chester and their neighborhood friends mutually hosted weekend at-home dinner get togethers, topped off with Chester playing the piano by ear and Dolores leading the harmony, followed by Bridge games.

Dolores was a glamourous woman when she wanted to be and a natural beauty the rest of the time. Known as “D” to many of her friends, she always brought fun to any event. Her energy to entertain was contagious as she was a supreme party planner and hostess, making everyone feel welcomed. Dolores became a member of the Orlando Rosalind Club and The Junior League, though her top priority was always family and friends.

As Dolores’ and Chester’s family grew and their social circle and business lives flowered, their times were fortunate and bountiful with simple life experiences shared with their children, the Karst family at large and friends.

For many years when the children were young, their summers were spent at Sebastian Inlet, a fish camp near Melbourne, Florida. Early on, A1A came to a halt at Sebastian Inlet so only those sheltering in a beachside cabin or small trailer considered it a destination, though many boaters and surf fishing activists arrived from all over knowing of its’ reputation for plentiful and large varieties of fish.

Chester and his brothers had fished Sebastian Inlet as young men and somehow leased the abandoned WWII submarine-citing tower supported by four huge “telephone poles” situated on a high sand dune above the inlet. They built a patch-quilt, wood structure around the poles, wrapped it with jalousie windows and topped it with a galvanized metal roof. There was one large, open space for the kitchen-dining area and hodge-podge seating for hanging out with a separate large room that could sleep two families.

On a large wrap-around porch, all ages were entertained by boaters coming and going through the choppy inlet and sunsets and star-laden night skies, usually with a breeze that kept the hungry mosquitoes at bay. There was always plenty of action for everyone: ocean fishing in smaller motorboats and larger ocean craft, swimming and surfing, skipping along the jetties to discover the catches of the day or piling into the beach buggy on a full moon, searching the dunes for sea turtles laying their eggs. Group meals were always productions serving 10-to-12 kids and adults; spaghetti and meat loaf were favorites, smoked fish was a standard, and there was always a homemade pie or strawberry shortcake, ice cream or cookies.

Chester, enthralled with family-sized, vintage cruising boats, always had a slip in West Palm Beach or Sanford for easy access to the ocean. He was the Captain and Chief Mechanic for his and Dolores’ voyages to distant Bahama Islands and along the Saint James River. Dolores was the Comfort Queen and Chef de Cuisine on these excursions. Besides their children being on board, guests ranged from their extended family to adult friend couples, from men-only trips to the annual voyage to the Bahamas with their pre-teen and teenaged sons. Chester’s and Dolores’ son held the record for the longest underwater dives in search of lobster, providing many an entree for the family crew and guests.

Whoever was on board, these were guaranteed adventures filled the magic provided by Mother Nature while exploring the outer Bahama Islands, fishing, snorkeling and playing cards always with unending stories and jokes…and martini sunsets.

When passing near the spectacular reefs surrounding a small outer island, a long rope would be thrown off the stern and all on board would jump into the ocean with swim masks and snorkels in place and grab hold of the rope. Chester would slowly guide the boat over the reef below, giving the swimmers an effortless screening of an underwater movie with fantastically colored coral and fish below. The last one on the line was called “shark bait” so everyone had to change positions on the line as the boat moved along the reef.

When Chester passed into the Great Beyond at age 80, Dolores kept herself busy and engaged. She spent wonderful times with her adult children, their spouses and partners, and her grandchildren. She travelled with girlfriends to spots along the Eastern Seaboard and Europe and took trips with her daughters to explore the Southwest and San Miguel, Mexico.

Among her steady excursions were those visiting adult children who had moved from Central Florida to Miami, Charleston, Aspen and Connecticut, mixing into their lifestyles with ease and joy. Adult children continuing to live in Central Florida provided a “second home” for Dolores. They played and dined together throughout the years, gathered in their gardens to share a glass of wine and tour the newest blooms, or vacationed in New Smyrna Beach in the summertime.

Dolores and her long-time neighborhood female friends stayed close in their maturing years, some of them well into their 90s. There was one good-sized group all born in 1927, self-named “The 27ers.” They began to celebrate their mutual birth year in their 40s with weekend gatherings in New Smyrna Beach. Among Dolores’ numerous framed photos of her husband and children on her bedroom dresser, there was one photo of The 27’ers in their early 70s all wearing white sailor hats.

In the last decade of her life, Dolores resided in The Mayflower in Winter Park where she made new friends while continuing to enjoy her long-time connections with several women from her original neighborhood who also resided at The Mayflower, also reaching their ninth decade.

At The Mayflower, a new group of women and men became significant in Dolores’ daily life, caring about and for her, always ready to laugh at her jokes and help her through physical or mental hurdles. Compassionate and committed, strong and wise, these special individuals brought joy, dignity and guidance to Dolores’ life. Her children learned how to better care for their mother through their example.

Steering the ship were the multi-tasking administrators, Kim Arunakul, Director of Assisted Living, and Ann Felix, Director of Memory Care. They stayed on top of the Big Picture while never losing sight of what worked for “their community,” and in it, for Dolores Karst.

They were also the many nurses and CNAs who made each day and night happen in the right way for Dolores, chatting with her, fixing the TV remote, or checking on her while she slumbered. They were the activity coordinators, among them the Bright Light, Emily Smith, who provided Dolores entertainment and fun with extraordinary energy and passion.

And they were the restaurant wait staff who knew her favorite ice cream or preferred seat by the windows. They were the patient rehab group who got her moving. And less fortunate, they were the salon hair stylists who, no fault of their own, dealt with Dolores never being satisfied with her current “hair do.”

Georgina Rodriguez, known by all as “GG”, was Dolores special caretaker for years, designated by Dolores as “my best friend.” GG’s lively spirit, untiring professional care and wonderful sense of humor were her gifts to Dolores and her family.

In exchange, this group could count on Dolores for delivering hilarious, unfiltered commentary on many subjects along with her sincere appreciation for their attention and care. When Dolores occasionally presented a less than cooperative mood, they improved upon the moment with their experience, skills and terrific sense of humor.

Many of them would typically greet Dolores with, “How are you doing?” Most often, her standard response was, “Well, I’m walking and talking.” That response continued until July 26, 2024 when Dolores Karst passed away in the dawning hours of the day.

Dolores Lott Karst is survived by her eldest daughter, Rebecca Karst and her life partner, Lewis Roth; her son, Craig Karst and his children, Clayton and Drew and their wives and Dolores’ two granddaughters, Kali and Soli; her daughter, Cynthia Karst and her husband, Broderick Helie, and their son, Adam; and her youngest daughter, Jennifer Karst and her husband, Pedro Andre, and their son, Ross.

Among the many surviving Karst family nieces and nephews, the youngest and cherished Kristi Karst Gomen, daughter of Roy Karst, Chester’s baby brother, and his wife, Ramona, spent many special days with her Aunt D throughout her life and especially in her last months. Unknown to Dolores, her second-born daughter, Karen Karst, died just two months before Dolores, survived by her longtime boyfriend and best friend, Bob Holtum.

Dolores will be missed as a mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, neighbor and Mayflower resident. With the very full and healthy life Dolores Karst lead, those who knew her well will also celebrate her long and happy life.