Raised in an Italian family but close to Jewish and Chinese neighborhoods, Doe loved heritage and culture. At her grandmother’s apron strings, she developed her fabulous cooking and sewing skills. She had a reputation for her homemade manicotti and her 7 pound chocolate layer cake. Her abilities with a needle and thread were the same, as she could sew anything, from her husband’s Santa suit to her daughter’s Barbie doll clothes.
In the 1960s, Doe worked as a “Girl Friday” for a national radio advertising company on Madison Avenue. Famous celebrities admired her and trusted her. Despite a lifelong battle with dyslexia, she was an avid reader and number cruncher. From grammar school through to her 70's, she was known as a fount of knowledge, a walking encyclopedia, and a thesaurus… she was Google before Google existed.
In her 40’s, not only did she earn her GED, but she headed to college, being awarded a full talent grant for her artistic abilities. She had natural talents for drawing, painting and sculpture. Despite her dyslexia and her fears, she earned an A in every class and graduated with her Associate’s Degree, with high honors, crossing the stage with her daughter. When asked if she was going to go on to get her Master’s degree, she would proudly say, “No, I proved my point!” She thrived on being told she couldn’t do something and then doing it, proving naysayers wrong, and overcoming obstacles.
Doe had a love for all things childlike and whimsical. She loved all genres of music and she loved to dance. She had a beautiful singing voice although she would never admit it. She loved attending live theater performances and was consistently starry-eyed when she searched out autographs from performers, often getting the same response from them as she engaged them in lively conversations of Broadway productions and Big Band music.
Doe was deeply spiritual and she consistently strived to do God’s will. She survived a very hard childhood by taking refuge in her relationship with her heavenly Father. She attributes her conversion to the Catholic faith to the intercession of Jesus’ Mother, Mary, thereafter developing a lifelong dedication of her life and efforts to the Blessed Mother. First and foremost, however, she loved Christ and was devoted to His Sacred Heart.
On the night of January first, 1969, Dolores met Michael. In that single meeting, Michael became her world, her best friend, her Knight in Shining Armor. They married in 1972 and remained best friends, no matter what life threw at them. When their daughter Colette was born, their love was significantly magnified, as now there was a human being in the world that embodied that love. September 16 marked 48 years of their marriage, friendship and dedication to one another.
Enabled by Michael, Doe spent her adult life trying to right the wrongs in the world. She expended much energy supporting the domestic violence victims of Hubbard House and being a crisis counselor for Emergency Pregnancy Services. Both organizations fulfilled her deep desire to help protect and empower women and children. She took great joy in being Mrs. Claus in Michael’s Santa gigs, helping to make Christmas special for underprivileged and hospitalized children. She loved being involved and she brought her faith and her protectiveness into everything she did. She was a room-mother, PTA president, and Girl Scout leader. She was a religion teacher, Eucharistic Minister, member of the Council of Catholic Women and St. Jude's Circle at Assumption Catholic Church, and she made Rosaries for Catholic missions. She seemed to live vicariously through her volunteer projects. There are plenty of rich memories of things like a living room full of floating yellow feathers for homemade Easter baskets, boxes of food delivered to needy strangers, and midnight shopping for Christmas toy giveaways.
If she had been able, Doe would have had a dozen children. She was fiercely devoted to her daughter but she never stopped mourning the children she lost to miscarriages. When she came across people who needed mothering, her overfull heart flowed without ceasing, without cost, and without judgment. Often called, “Momma Doe,” she had numerous emotionally and spiritually adopted children, literally across the globe, from every walk of life. The way she saw through people's outer shells and into their hearts was extraordinary. She loved without limits. She affected lives with a ripple effect, and it gives her husband and daughter great joy when people share their stories of how she made a difference in their lives. She lifted people up and made them soar, the wind beneath their wings, often without even knowing it.
Due to her living in long term care for a year and being kept apart for nearly 6 months due to the pandemic, Doe’s husband and daughter are grateful for having been able to spend Doe’s final days together in Hospice. Michael will always cherish being able to stay at her side for her last two nights, holding her hand through the night so that she was never alone. She did not live as long as she or any of the rest of us would have liked and there was so much more she wanted to accomplish. But the physical body and earthly time are irrelevant. Her husband and daughter encourage others to share in their faith that she is in Heaven continuing to pray for us, love us, and intercede for us to the Father. The best way for us to honor her would be to continue her devotions and passions back here on earth... to love God; to love life; and, most importantly, to love one another.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Assumption Catholic Church, 2403 Atlantic Blvd. at 12:00 p.m. (Noon) on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, Feast of the Archangels. Father Jason Trull will officiate. A Rosary will be held prior to the Mass, at 11:30. Social distancing will be in effect. Anyone entering the church will be required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth and seating will be in every other row (rows are clearly marked). A private graveside service will be held later at Greenlawn Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, Dolores’ family would prefer her memory to be honored by a donation to one of the organizations she loved, such as Hubbard House or Emergency Pregnancy Services.
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