Isabel Dawson

Isabel A. (Zappone) Dawson died at her home on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at the age of 95. She was born in New Rochelle, New York, the daughter of Ricardo D. Zappone, and Isabel Allian Zappone. Isabel's family resided in both the New York City area and Washington, D.C., but the one constant in her life was summers spent in Centerville. She attended a variety of grade schools as her family moved frequently among New York, D.C. and Massachusetts and she graduated from Barnstable High School.

Isabel enrolled at her father's alma mater and was among the first female students to earn the Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. At the time, however, women were not allowed to enroll in the day division, so she completed her coursework in their evening program. Because she was only 20 years old upon graduation and too young to join the foreign service, Isabel continued her studies abroad at Oxford University. She also did her graduate studies at the London School of Economics.

Isabel returned to the United States after graduate school to work two years for the Central Intelligence Agency as an Economic and Political Affairs Officer in Washington, D.C. In 1954, Isabel joined the foreign service with her first posting being as an economic/political analyst at the American Embassy in Brussels, Belgium. She returned to Washington after two years abroad to work as an economic area officer with the U.S. State Department and that is where she met her former husband Richard A. Dawson.

Isabel and Richard wed and proceeded to spend the entirety of the 1960s in foreign service assignments to Beirut, Lebanon, Nouakchott, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and Rabat, Morocco. Isabel loved to wander off the beaten path to take in authentic cultural experiences. She took every opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

Isabel returned to Cape Cod on her own in the early 1970s to care for her elderly mother who was living alone in the family's summer home on Main Street, Centerville. This began Isabel's next adventure working for U.S. Congressman Gerry Studds as his regional representative for Cape Cod and the Islands. She ran the district office in Hyannis for five years where she was responsible for constituent services, served as liaison with town and county officials and advanced the congressman's visits in the region.

Once Isabel's mother passed, she sold the family home in Centerville and settled in South Yarmouth. It was there that Isabel met the love of her life, Richard J. Powers, and the two began a decades-long wedding engagement that lasted until the two were in their 90s. The couple were regular fixtures at many local restaurants and shops, and they always seemed to know the proprietors by name. They also kept a circle of close friends and enjoyed hosting them for annual Christmas parties that featured Isabel's extensive collection of nutcrackers, stuffed bears, and silk poinsettias. In her retirement, Isabel enjoyed catching up on movies that she missed while abroad, cooking gourmet meals, listening to classical music, and painting watercolor landscapes of her favorite spots on the Cape.

Isabel was predeceased by her dear friend and fiancé Richard J. Powers.

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, November 21st at 11 AM at Doane Beal & Ames Funeral Home, Hyannis. Burial services will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Isabel A. Dawson and Richard J. Powers Education Scholarship Fund, with the fund name noted in the memo line and made payable to the Bridgewater State University Foundation, P.O. Box 42, Bridgewater, MA 02324.