Dolores Helen King

Dolores (Walesiak) King, beloved mother and matriarch of the King family, passed away quietly Monday morning, Sept. 10, 2012, at Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, Florida, about 7 a.m. She was surrounded in her last hours by eight of her 10 children, all who had been able to make the journey - and very much by all of them in spirit. She was taken by a stroke suffered a few days earlier (Sept. 6), but in the end by her own long journey through life, at 86 years old.

Dolores was preceded in death by her loving husband Ernest King (1921-2001), who also died in Florida. They were married July 6, 1946, and in their long and devoted marriage raised 10 children: Margaret, Michael, Melinda, Matthew, Martin, Maria, Mark, Monica, Mitchell, and Ernest. She is also survived by her sister Alfreda Wilczynski, the wife of Marion. They were married in East Chicago, Indiana, and lived for many years in Hammond. In 1971 they moved to Mercer, Wisconsin, where they owned and managed King's Cozy Resort on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage, until retiring to Florida in 2000. In Plantation, they lived near their eldest daughter, Margaret, and their youngest son, Ernest. Sons, daughters, and grandchildren came often to visit.

Dolores remained devoted to the memory of her husband after his death, and followed closely the lives of her 10 children, 20 grandchildren, and 9 great grandchildren, who are bereft at her loss but filled with love by her memory. When she was young her nickname was "Red," for her beautiful red hair that kept its natural color until the day she died. She was a faithful worshiper at St. David's Catholic Church in Davie, Fl. Although her health in recent years was precarious and her eyesight dim, she followed the news and national politics closely, found war, cruelty, and intolerance outrageous and absurd, and was eagerly anticipating the second term of President Barack Obama. In lieu of flowers, her family suggests donations to Nuns on the Bus: Nuns Drive for Faith, Family, and Fairness - "missioned to stand with people in need and to be witnesses for economic justice." For more information and the opportunity to donate, visit nunsonthebus.com