Delores A. Wolcott

The woman who could light up a room with her warmth and infectious laugh was born in the midst of the Great Depression, March 12,1935, with her family struggling to put food on the table in the Midwest. After her father left the family, her mother Dorothy moved the children back to Binghamton to live with Dorothy’s parents, the diminutive Blanche "Big Mother" and Willard Booker. Delores grew up in a farmhouse in Castle Creek and treasured a lifelong friendship with the Ellsworth sisters, with whom she learned that laughter lightened every sorrow.

At 18 she met William James Wolcott while he was working at a Binghamton diner. They married in August 1956 and raised two children, Sharon Marie (b. 1957) and William “Billy” (b. 1966). William’s career at IBM allowed the family to settle near Ross Park, where Delores loved walks, books and visits with friends.

Delores was predeceased by her husband of 37 years, William; parents, Dorothy and (stepfather) Fred Willsey; great-grandparents, Blanche and Willard Booker; sister, Shirley (Edwin) Benning; brothers-in-law, Lewis, Charles (Ruth) and John (Cathy) Wolcott; nephews, the mountain-sized Edwin "Little Eddie" Benning, Francis Wolcott, John Glenn; her dear friends Mary, Ruth, Betty, Eileen and Joyce Ellsworth and Rose and Donald Barton; and the innumerable dogs, cats, birds, fish and turtles she adopted during her life.

She is survived by her brother John (Linda) Glenn, children; Sharon (Brian) Faughnan and Bill (Denise) Wolcott; grandchildren, William (Tina) Faughnan, Robert Faughnan and Sara (Matthew) Gilbeau; great-grandchildren, Stella and Sadie Gilbeau and Jackson, Mary Anne, Kayleigh, Michael and Colton Faughnan; and her many nieces and nephews, including Bonnie Landon.

Friends and family may pay respects beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at Sts. John and Andrew Catholic Church, 1263 Vestal Ave., Binghamton. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., followed by her burial at Calvary Cemetery, 501 Fairview St., Johnson City. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Broome County Humane Society, 167 Conklin Ave. Binghamton, NY 13901.