Dorothy Helen Hastings

Dorothy was the eldest daughter born to the late Helen & Robert Hastings of Holyoke, MA.

Deaf at the age of 3 due to spinal meningitis, she learned to communicate with the hearing world from her schooling at Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, MA. 

Dorothy was the first deaf employee hired by Aetna in 1943, where she worked as a Key Punch Operator until her Retirement in 1980.

She was a pioneer in the communication field for the deaf.  She had one of the first teletype machines used to communicate with the deaf and hearing world.  She created a Movie Club held at her house for her deaf friends to view movies with a special machine that interpreted the dialect from the movie onto the screen – what is now closed caption.  She was appointed by the late Governor of CT, Ella Grasso, and served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Mystic Oral School from 1976-79.

Although she never married or had children of her own, she had a huge circle of family and friends that adored her.  She was the cool Aunt and her love for life, sense of humor, adventure, amazing creativity for arts & crafts and devotion to her faith, family & friends made her the kind of person we all aspire to become.

She leaves behind 17 Nieces & Nephews, 31 Great Nieces & Nephews and 13 Great Great Nieces & Nephews who will never forget their beloved “Auntie DoDo”.

She is predeceased by her siblings and in-laws, Kay & Jack Funke, Charles & Susan Hastings and Rudy Pesci.

For most of her life she lived in Manchester, CT but she spent her last 7 years in Fullerton, CA with her sister, Helen Pesci.  Helen and her children created a wonderful & caring home for Dorothy to live and enjoy her later years of life.

John F Tierney Funeral Home in Manchester CT will be in charge of her arrangements that will include a funeral mass at Assumption Church in Manchester followed by burial at Mount St Benedict in Bloomfield CT to be held on May 28, 2022.

Memorial donations can be made to either:

Mark Seven Deaf Foundation                     Clarke Schools for Hearing & Speech

c/o Kelly Lange                                              45 Round Hill Rd

P.O. Box 32080                                             Northampton, MA 01060

 St. Augustine, FL 32080