Dolores Callaghan Quattrin
Birth: 1 Oct 1930, San Francisco, CA
Death: 4 Apr 2010, Walnut Creek, CA
Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma
Occupation: Medical Secretary, Homemaker
Education: St. Brigid’s, City College of San Francisco (AA)
Spouse: John (Giovanni) Battista Luigi Quattrin
Birth: 12 Feb 1928, Zoppola, Italy
Death: 23 Feb 2003, San Francisco, CA
Father: Andrea Quattrin Mother: Emilia Petris
Marriage: 21 Aug 1954, San Francisco
Children: David Michael Jude (1954-)
Kevin Joseph Patrick (1960-)
Laura Ann Elizabeth (1968-)
A second-generation native San Franciscan, Dolores was born on October 1, 1930, to Lester and Catherine (Silk) Callaghan. She was named after Our Lady of Dolors to whom her mother had prayed when they found she was pregnant while Lester was out of work. Dolores said the statue at St. Brigid’s Church looked like Catherine. She disliked her name because it means "sorrow," and she did not think it fit her. Her cousin Geri called her Ressie, which didn't help because, as a baby, Dolores pronounced her name Res. After Catherine gave birth, the doctor informed her that she had a tipped uterus, which would make having more children difficult, but that he could fix it. Because of the economic times, Catherine decided against the surgery.
Dolores grew up at 1229 Vallejo Street. She was an only child, and she remembered going everywhere with her parents. There were two theatres nearby, and they went all the time, Dolores often riding on Les’s shoulders. She loved old movies and knew everything about everybody. She read all the fan magazines, just like her grandmother Ellen had with the social pages. Her son Kevin would call her in the middle of the night and say, "Turn on channel such-and-such. Who is that character actor?” and she would say, “ Oh, he was in … with … and he was married to …” She was IMDB before the Internet Movie Database was created. Summers were spent visiting the ranch, Catherine’s sister’s house in La Honda, or at the Russian River.
Dolores was proud of graduating from St. Brigid’s Grammar School and High School. She enjoyed attending school reunions and seeing old friends. At St. Brigid’s, she also worked in the rectory doing secretarial work, a position she won as a result of her penmanship and deportment. She attended City College of San Francisco, which was near her new house on Capistrano, where she received an AA degree. She became a medical secretary and worked for the Southern Pacific Railway — the SP, as she called it. In early 1954, Dolores met John Quattrin at a friend’s wedding.
Death: 4 Apr 2010, Walnut Creek, CA
Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma
Occupation: Medical Secretary, Homemaker
Education: St. Brigid’s, City College of San Francisco (AA)
Spouse: John (Giovanni) Battista Luigi Quattrin
Birth: 12 Feb 1928, Zoppola, Italy
Death: 23 Feb 2003, San Francisco, CA
Father: Andrea Quattrin Mother: Emilia Petris
Marriage: 21 Aug 1954, San Francisco
Children: David Michael Jude (1954-)
Kevin Joseph Patrick (1960-)
Laura Ann Elizabeth (1968-)
A second-generation native San Franciscan, Dolores was born on October 1, 1930, to Lester and Catherine (Silk) Callaghan. She was named after Our Lady of Dolors to whom her mother had prayed when they found she was pregnant while Lester was out of work. Dolores said the statue at St. Brigid’s Church looked like Catherine. She disliked her name because it means "sorrow," and she did not think it fit her. Her cousin Geri called her Ressie, which didn't help because, as a baby, Dolores pronounced her name Res. After Catherine gave birth, the doctor informed her that she had a tipped uterus, which would make having more children difficult, but that he could fix it. Because of the economic times, Catherine decided against the surgery.
Dolores grew up at 1229 Vallejo Street. She was an only child, and she remembered going everywhere with her parents. There were two theatres nearby, and they went all the time, Dolores often riding on Les’s shoulders. She loved old movies and knew everything about everybody. She read all the fan magazines, just like her grandmother Ellen had with the social pages. Her son Kevin would call her in the middle of the night and say, "Turn on channel such-and-such. Who is that character actor?” and she would say, “ Oh, he was in … with … and he was married to …” She was IMDB before the Internet Movie Database was created. Summers were spent visiting the ranch, Catherine’s sister’s house in La Honda, or at the Russian River.
Dolores was proud of graduating from St. Brigid’s Grammar School and High School. She enjoyed attending school reunions and seeing old friends. At St. Brigid’s, she also worked in the rectory doing secretarial work, a position she won as a result of her penmanship and deportment. She attended City College of San Francisco, which was near her new house on Capistrano, where she received an AA degree. She became a medical secretary and worked for the Southern Pacific Railway — the SP, as she called it. In early 1954, Dolores met John Quattrin at a friend’s wedding.
Giovanni Battista Quattrin was born on February 12, 1928, in the town of Zoppola in Friuli, Italy. The Quattrin family can be traced back to the garrison that was sent by the Holy Roman Emperor to Zoppola in 1250 to build and staff the new castle there. John’s parents were Andrea Quattrin and Emilia Petris. Andrea had immigrated to California in 1915 to help his cousins develop farms in Kingsburg. On one his trips home, he was informed by his mother that she and Emilia’s mother had decided their children should marry, which they did in 1927. Emilia became pregnant with John, and Andrea went back to America to start his own farm in Lemore. The farm failed in 1930, and Andrea decided to start a life in San Francisco. He went back to Zoppola to meet his two-year-old son for the first time and bring him and Emilia to America.
John grew up in the Potrero District of San Francisco, on 18th Street. He went to Everett Middle School and Lick-Wilmerding High School. He spent one year at UC Berkeley, but dropped out to join the Army when he heard the GI Bill might be eliminated. He was in the 1st Cavalry and trained to drive a tank and an armored car. His troop was scheduled to ship out to Japan, and he was looking forward to traveling abroad and seeing the world. Unfortunately, someone found out he had worked as a stock clerk at JC Penney while in high school, and the Army needed a clerk at Camp Stoneman, near Pittsburg, California. In his two years there, he made Corporal and had a fairly easy time of it. He could go home to San Francisco on weekends and to his uncles' houses in Nickles during the week, so he always ate home-cooked meals. He also liberated boots, work clothes and blankets that were set to be burned and sent them to his uncles and cousins in Italy, who had suffered under constant occupation.
John used his military service to pay for schooling at the University of San Francisco, but he did not graduate. He developed an ulcer due to the stress of school and work (and drinking). When his doctor told him to give one up, he gave up school and switched jobs to banking, starting in 1952 as Employee #7 at Eureka Federal Savings and Loan where he would spend the next 33 years, rising to the level of Senior Vice President and Controller, in charge of the Savings division.
John grew up in the Potrero District of San Francisco, on 18th Street. He went to Everett Middle School and Lick-Wilmerding High School. He spent one year at UC Berkeley, but dropped out to join the Army when he heard the GI Bill might be eliminated. He was in the 1st Cavalry and trained to drive a tank and an armored car. His troop was scheduled to ship out to Japan, and he was looking forward to traveling abroad and seeing the world. Unfortunately, someone found out he had worked as a stock clerk at JC Penney while in high school, and the Army needed a clerk at Camp Stoneman, near Pittsburg, California. In his two years there, he made Corporal and had a fairly easy time of it. He could go home to San Francisco on weekends and to his uncles' houses in Nickles during the week, so he always ate home-cooked meals. He also liberated boots, work clothes and blankets that were set to be burned and sent them to his uncles and cousins in Italy, who had suffered under constant occupation.
John used his military service to pay for schooling at the University of San Francisco, but he did not graduate. He developed an ulcer due to the stress of school and work (and drinking). When his doctor told him to give one up, he gave up school and switched jobs to banking, starting in 1952 as Employee #7 at Eureka Federal Savings and Loan where he would spend the next 33 years, rising to the level of Senior Vice President and Controller, in charge of the Savings division.
Dolores and John married on August 21, 1954, at Corpus Christi Church. Initially, they lived with Catherine and Les at the house on Capistrano. Their first son, David Michael, was born while they lived there. The house was crowded and, after a year, they moved to an apartment in the Excelsior District. In 1957, thanks to promotions at EFS, they bought the house at 195 Canyon Drive in Southern Hills where they lived for the next 50 years. Dolores continued to work at the SP until 1960, with Les and Catherine babysitting Dave. In 1960, with a second child due, Dolores stopped working at the SP. She spent her time keeping house, raising the children, and being an executive’s wife. She was never comfortable with this last role.
Dolores saw the house as something to decorate. She liked arranging flowers and would redecorate the living room and dining room each season. She hated it when John (or, later, her children) would take the huge centerpiece off the table at Christmas or Thanksgiving; she liked to see the flowers. She loved beautiful and fancy things: French provincial furniture, Waterford Crystal (though she accepted Galway if it were available), classic statuary (especially angels), and Renaissance paintings. John’s successful career allowed her to indulge herself. In 1968, she had the kitchen remodeled with beautiful French country-style cabinets, though they kept the 1954 Pullman nook and table because of space issues. Later, she redid the outside of the house with aluminum siding and stonework, and in 1975, she added three bedrooms and a bath upstairs and turned two of the bedrooms downstairs into a family room.
Like her father, Dolores was a devout Catholic, and she became an active member of the Church of the Epiphany Parish. She attended mass every Sunday as well as many other days of the week. In the last decade of her life, she went every day. She was president of the Epiphany CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) and was the recording secretary for both the Epiphany Mothers’ Guild and the American Council of Catholic Women. After her children were grown, she became a member of the Ladies Auxiliary at St. Mary’s hospital and worked weekly in the gift shop. She volunteered in the church office until 2007, counting the Sunday collections with her friends to whom she referred as the Irish Underground because they were almost all of Irish descent and worked in the basement at the rectory.
Family vacations were important to Dolores, though John often would spend the weekend with the family and go back to work during the week. Usually a week or two was spent at the Russian River, in the pool at the Brookside Lodge, or at the beach at Jenner. Later, the family would spend the week at Santa Cruz, touring the area and going to the Boardwalk. There was the epic trip in 1964, with Emilia in the back seat between David and Kevin, to visit all the California Missions and finish with a trip to Disneyland. In 1968, they took a trip to Hearst Castle, but Dolores got sick on the bus ride up the hill and threw up in the garden (she was pregnant with Laura at the time). The docents would not let her inside for fear she would get sick on the expensive carpet, so she never got to se all beauty inside. Later, the trips got more distant: in 1977, Hawaii; in 1978, Italy and Ireland with Nadine and Nick; in 1979, a drive to British Columbia to visit Quattrin relatives; in 1980, a train trip to Toronto with Laura and John’s cousin Maxine (no John). After that, with the family more dispersed, the family vacations ended.
In 1975, John and Dolores exchange season tickets as an anniversary present. John got Dolores season tickets for the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, and she got him SF 49er tickets. All three children used and enjoyed the football tickets, especially during the Dynasty of the 1980s. Kevin and Laura often went with Dolores to the musicals in town and were privileged to see Richard Burton in Camelot, Yul Bryner in The King and I, Mako in Pacific Overtures, and Jerry Orbach in Chicago. After John and Dave stopped going to the games, Dolores went, taking a neighbor-friend. Her grandson Erik used the tickets until Candlestick was closed and the Niners moved to Santa Clara.
After Dave moved out and Laura began school, Dolores began to branch out beyond from the housekeeper role. She always loved to sing and had a beautiful alto voice. One of Kevin’s earliest memories was her singing "A Little Bit of Heaven." She began singing in the church choir. Extremely proud of her Irish heritage, she became a founding member of the United Irish Cultural Center. She also began taking a series of art classes in charcoal drawing, oil painting, and stained glass work, with her cousin Nadine.
Dolores saw the house as something to decorate. She liked arranging flowers and would redecorate the living room and dining room each season. She hated it when John (or, later, her children) would take the huge centerpiece off the table at Christmas or Thanksgiving; she liked to see the flowers. She loved beautiful and fancy things: French provincial furniture, Waterford Crystal (though she accepted Galway if it were available), classic statuary (especially angels), and Renaissance paintings. John’s successful career allowed her to indulge herself. In 1968, she had the kitchen remodeled with beautiful French country-style cabinets, though they kept the 1954 Pullman nook and table because of space issues. Later, she redid the outside of the house with aluminum siding and stonework, and in 1975, she added three bedrooms and a bath upstairs and turned two of the bedrooms downstairs into a family room.
Like her father, Dolores was a devout Catholic, and she became an active member of the Church of the Epiphany Parish. She attended mass every Sunday as well as many other days of the week. In the last decade of her life, she went every day. She was president of the Epiphany CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) and was the recording secretary for both the Epiphany Mothers’ Guild and the American Council of Catholic Women. After her children were grown, she became a member of the Ladies Auxiliary at St. Mary’s hospital and worked weekly in the gift shop. She volunteered in the church office until 2007, counting the Sunday collections with her friends to whom she referred as the Irish Underground because they were almost all of Irish descent and worked in the basement at the rectory.
Family vacations were important to Dolores, though John often would spend the weekend with the family and go back to work during the week. Usually a week or two was spent at the Russian River, in the pool at the Brookside Lodge, or at the beach at Jenner. Later, the family would spend the week at Santa Cruz, touring the area and going to the Boardwalk. There was the epic trip in 1964, with Emilia in the back seat between David and Kevin, to visit all the California Missions and finish with a trip to Disneyland. In 1968, they took a trip to Hearst Castle, but Dolores got sick on the bus ride up the hill and threw up in the garden (she was pregnant with Laura at the time). The docents would not let her inside for fear she would get sick on the expensive carpet, so she never got to se all beauty inside. Later, the trips got more distant: in 1977, Hawaii; in 1978, Italy and Ireland with Nadine and Nick; in 1979, a drive to British Columbia to visit Quattrin relatives; in 1980, a train trip to Toronto with Laura and John’s cousin Maxine (no John). After that, with the family more dispersed, the family vacations ended.
In 1975, John and Dolores exchange season tickets as an anniversary present. John got Dolores season tickets for the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, and she got him SF 49er tickets. All three children used and enjoyed the football tickets, especially during the Dynasty of the 1980s. Kevin and Laura often went with Dolores to the musicals in town and were privileged to see Richard Burton in Camelot, Yul Bryner in The King and I, Mako in Pacific Overtures, and Jerry Orbach in Chicago. After John and Dave stopped going to the games, Dolores went, taking a neighbor-friend. Her grandson Erik used the tickets until Candlestick was closed and the Niners moved to Santa Clara.
After Dave moved out and Laura began school, Dolores began to branch out beyond from the housekeeper role. She always loved to sing and had a beautiful alto voice. One of Kevin’s earliest memories was her singing "A Little Bit of Heaven." She began singing in the church choir. Extremely proud of her Irish heritage, she became a founding member of the United Irish Cultural Center. She also began taking a series of art classes in charcoal drawing, oil painting, and stained glass work, with her cousin Nadine.
Dolores had become very close to Nadine after Nadine’s mother, Rita, passed away, and they went everywhere together for the next 30 years. People often mistook them for sisters. Both were very good painters, but Dolores rarely finished a painting. She had an artist's eye that was always drawn to the least asymmetry or flaw and was never quite satisfied with the final product. Together they got representatives’ licenses, and they began attending wholesalers’ shows as buyers. Their lunches and buying sprees were legendary.
In 1978, they planned a trip to Italy for John’s 50th birthday and added Ireland to the trip in a “demand for equal time.” The museums of Florence and Rome, especially the Vatican Museum, were high points for Dolores. The Pitti Palace in Florence made up for that missed opportunity at Hearst Castle.
In 1975, John and Dolores exchange season tickets as an anniversary present. John got Dolores season tickets for the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, and she got him SF 49er tickets. Kevin and Laura often went with Dolores to the musicals in town and were privileged to see Richard Burton in Camelot, Yul Bryner in The King and I, Mako in Pacific Overtures, and Jerry Orbach in Chicago. All three children used and enjoyed the football tickets, especially during the Dynasty of the 1980s. After John and Dave stopped going to the games, Dolores went, taking a neighbor-friend. Her grandson Erik used the tickets until Candlestick was closed and the Niners moved to Santa Clara.
Dolores spent time with friends she had made in the Mothers’ Guild at Epiphany. Ostensibly getting together for craft projects, they referred to themselves as the Happy Hookers. Though they did a variety of projects from flower arranging to latch-hook rugs to Styrofoam figurines, it was mostly an excuse to get together for lunch and laughs.
In 1979, Dolores and John decided to have the big wedding they were not able to have in 1954. They celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a renewal of their vows at the Church of the Epiphany on August 26, 1979. John rented a Rolls Royce to chauffer them to the Church and the reception at The Italian American Social Club. There was a live band and a sit-down dinner were 300. Members from three generations of the family, business friends, the Irish Mafia, and friends of their children attended. By this point, unfortunately, Dolores was no longer in contact with any of the living Silk descendants (other than through Christmas cards), so the Silks were not represented.
In 1984, Dolores became a grandmother for the first time, with Kevin’s son Rudraigh being born in January and David’s son Erik being born in April. Cian followed in 1988, Ceri in 1990, Sean in 1991, and finally Joanna in 1996. Dolores doted on them all, especially Rudraigh as the first grandchild and Ceri as the first grand daughter. She babysat most days and picked the kids up from school, often taking them for snacks and shopping for Transformers, Power Rangers, and Beanie Babies. Nadine convinced Dolores that Beanie Babies were the next great investment, like baseball cards and comic books. She left hundreds of them to her granddaughters. Christmas morning was at her house an extravaganza that seemed to go on forever. Then it would be repeated later in the day or a day later for David’s sons. She could always be found in the crowd at her grandchildren’s games and theatrical performances. She even paid for their Catholic school education, usually from the rent she collected on her mother’s house. As she had with her children, she attended everything her grandchildren did, from basketball and volleyball games to plays and piano recitals. She would make the trek over to Concord to see David’s sons play soccer.
John retired in November of 1984, but he and Dolores continued to live parallel lives. His centered around hanging out with his buddies at the Granada Café, while hers was with Nadine and Marge or other friends, taking care of the grandchildren, singing in the Choir, and working in the Church Rectory. After she graduated from high school, she had dyed her hair from brown to platinum blonde like Marilyn Monroe, and she went to a hairdresser every Saturday for the rest of her life. When she first went into the care facility in 2008, she was fading. When Kevin found a hairdresser who would come to her room and do her hair and make-up, she perked right up. He thinks it added a year to her life.
John’s financial status allowed Dolores aid her children even more. David married in 1981 and Dolores and John provided the down payment for their new house. When Kevin was looking to buy a house in Pacifica in 1994, Dolores provided the down payment, as she had for David. When her youngest grandchild, Joanna, was born, she again babysat, often dozing on the bench by the pool with a cup of tea during Joanna’s nap or pulling weeds in the yard.
In 1996, Laura married. Catherine’s house on Capistrano house had been vacant for a few years as Dolores was tired of being a landlady and dealing with tenants, but, in 1997, she let Laura and Frank move into the house. Laura has always felt safe there and believed Lester and Catherine watched over her. Laura began to take over the Thanksgiving dinner duties from Dave. Dolores had another house to decorate. Again there was new furniture, dishes and cookware, and renaissance painting to buy.
In the 1900s, Kevin became interested in family history. He knew much of the Quattrin and Callaghan history, but almost nothing about the Silks. Dolores told him what she remembered Catherine telling her (much of which turned out to be wrong) and he began digging. She had been in contact with John Silk earlier, going on a Tahoe trip with him and his wife, but the two Johns had misbehaved badly and she had been too embarrassed to talk to Maria again. Kevin convinced her to write letters the Fischers, Bob Rosen, and the Schneiders. The Blooms had both passed away by this time. Bob responded quickly and he and Dolores met for lunch to talk about family stories. It was the first time they had seen each other in 50 years. Ruth Schneider had passed away, but Ruben wrote her a note telling her how much he knew Ruth would have appreciated her letter. Hal’s daughter Andrea contacted Kevin, and he and Dolores were invited to Hal’s wife’s memorial service. It was the first time Kevin had met a cousin (Wayne) whom he looked like.
In 1978, they planned a trip to Italy for John’s 50th birthday and added Ireland to the trip in a “demand for equal time.” The museums of Florence and Rome, especially the Vatican Museum, were high points for Dolores. The Pitti Palace in Florence made up for that missed opportunity at Hearst Castle.
In 1975, John and Dolores exchange season tickets as an anniversary present. John got Dolores season tickets for the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, and she got him SF 49er tickets. Kevin and Laura often went with Dolores to the musicals in town and were privileged to see Richard Burton in Camelot, Yul Bryner in The King and I, Mako in Pacific Overtures, and Jerry Orbach in Chicago. All three children used and enjoyed the football tickets, especially during the Dynasty of the 1980s. After John and Dave stopped going to the games, Dolores went, taking a neighbor-friend. Her grandson Erik used the tickets until Candlestick was closed and the Niners moved to Santa Clara.
Dolores spent time with friends she had made in the Mothers’ Guild at Epiphany. Ostensibly getting together for craft projects, they referred to themselves as the Happy Hookers. Though they did a variety of projects from flower arranging to latch-hook rugs to Styrofoam figurines, it was mostly an excuse to get together for lunch and laughs.
In 1979, Dolores and John decided to have the big wedding they were not able to have in 1954. They celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a renewal of their vows at the Church of the Epiphany on August 26, 1979. John rented a Rolls Royce to chauffer them to the Church and the reception at The Italian American Social Club. There was a live band and a sit-down dinner were 300. Members from three generations of the family, business friends, the Irish Mafia, and friends of their children attended. By this point, unfortunately, Dolores was no longer in contact with any of the living Silk descendants (other than through Christmas cards), so the Silks were not represented.
In 1984, Dolores became a grandmother for the first time, with Kevin’s son Rudraigh being born in January and David’s son Erik being born in April. Cian followed in 1988, Ceri in 1990, Sean in 1991, and finally Joanna in 1996. Dolores doted on them all, especially Rudraigh as the first grandchild and Ceri as the first grand daughter. She babysat most days and picked the kids up from school, often taking them for snacks and shopping for Transformers, Power Rangers, and Beanie Babies. Nadine convinced Dolores that Beanie Babies were the next great investment, like baseball cards and comic books. She left hundreds of them to her granddaughters. Christmas morning was at her house an extravaganza that seemed to go on forever. Then it would be repeated later in the day or a day later for David’s sons. She could always be found in the crowd at her grandchildren’s games and theatrical performances. She even paid for their Catholic school education, usually from the rent she collected on her mother’s house. As she had with her children, she attended everything her grandchildren did, from basketball and volleyball games to plays and piano recitals. She would make the trek over to Concord to see David’s sons play soccer.
John retired in November of 1984, but he and Dolores continued to live parallel lives. His centered around hanging out with his buddies at the Granada Café, while hers was with Nadine and Marge or other friends, taking care of the grandchildren, singing in the Choir, and working in the Church Rectory. After she graduated from high school, she had dyed her hair from brown to platinum blonde like Marilyn Monroe, and she went to a hairdresser every Saturday for the rest of her life. When she first went into the care facility in 2008, she was fading. When Kevin found a hairdresser who would come to her room and do her hair and make-up, she perked right up. He thinks it added a year to her life.
John’s financial status allowed Dolores aid her children even more. David married in 1981 and Dolores and John provided the down payment for their new house. When Kevin was looking to buy a house in Pacifica in 1994, Dolores provided the down payment, as she had for David. When her youngest grandchild, Joanna, was born, she again babysat, often dozing on the bench by the pool with a cup of tea during Joanna’s nap or pulling weeds in the yard.
In 1996, Laura married. Catherine’s house on Capistrano house had been vacant for a few years as Dolores was tired of being a landlady and dealing with tenants, but, in 1997, she let Laura and Frank move into the house. Laura has always felt safe there and believed Lester and Catherine watched over her. Laura began to take over the Thanksgiving dinner duties from Dave. Dolores had another house to decorate. Again there was new furniture, dishes and cookware, and renaissance painting to buy.
In the 1900s, Kevin became interested in family history. He knew much of the Quattrin and Callaghan history, but almost nothing about the Silks. Dolores told him what she remembered Catherine telling her (much of which turned out to be wrong) and he began digging. She had been in contact with John Silk earlier, going on a Tahoe trip with him and his wife, but the two Johns had misbehaved badly and she had been too embarrassed to talk to Maria again. Kevin convinced her to write letters the Fischers, Bob Rosen, and the Schneiders. The Blooms had both passed away by this time. Bob responded quickly and he and Dolores met for lunch to talk about family stories. It was the first time they had seen each other in 50 years. Ruth Schneider had passed away, but Ruben wrote her a note telling her how much he knew Ruth would have appreciated her letter. Hal’s daughter Andrea contacted Kevin, and he and Dolores were invited to Hal’s wife’s memorial service. It was the first time Kevin had met a cousin (Wayne) whom he looked like.
In 1998, John injured himself in a fall in the post office and never fully recovered. He mostly stayed in bed for the next five years. She, with help from Laura, nursed him through that rough time. Her faith supported her through this difficult time and she began going to mass every day.
During John’s long, slow slide to the end, Dolores talked about the things she and Nadine would do and where they would travel after John’s death. But Nadine passed away from pancreatic cancer six weeks before John. John passed away on February 23, 2003, at St. Francis Hospital. The official cause of death was pneumonia, but he had stipulated in his Trust that he did not want any tubes, and so he basically starved to death. It took weeks. He was 75 years old. He was interred in Holy Angels Mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery. Dolores picked it out for herself and John because she loved all the marble and antique visiting chairs.
During John’s long, slow slide to the end, Dolores talked about the things she and Nadine would do and where they would travel after John’s death. But Nadine passed away from pancreatic cancer six weeks before John. John passed away on February 23, 2003, at St. Francis Hospital. The official cause of death was pneumonia, but he had stipulated in his Trust that he did not want any tubes, and so he basically starved to death. It took weeks. He was 75 years old. He was interred in Holy Angels Mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery. Dolores picked it out for herself and John because she loved all the marble and antique visiting chairs.
Dolores was living alone for the first time in her life. She began spending even more time with her children, at Capistrano with Laura and having weekly dinners in Pacifica with Kevin’s family. Dave even moved back home after his divorce. Dolores’ health slowly began to slowly fail. Like her mother, she was diabetic, but the diabetes seemed to affect the phrenic nerve. In 2005, she quit the choir because she could not get the deep breaths she needed in order to sing. In 2006, she began having trouble swallowing. Her legs began giving her trouble, and she began to use a walker in 2007.
In May of 2008, her children convinced her to go to the emergency room because of problems with her legs, but, while there, she had a panic attack and could not breathe. The medical staff had to intubate her. Over the next two months, she was unable to be weaned from the respirator. She had a tracheotomy and spent the next two years in a facility in Rossmoor, California. It was very expensive, but John’s financial acumen left her in a good enough situation to deal with it. Her children made sure one of them visited every day. Kevin brought fresh flowers continually, and they would sit and watch college football (her choice, not his) and sitcoms. Rossmoor took very good care of her there, and she felt safe. Her biggest frustration at the time was that she missed her granddaughter Ceri’s final school musical, Mame, and her graduation.
After a month in St. Francis’ ICU, it was determined that she needed a tracheotomy to replace the breathing tube. She was transferred to a hospital in San Leandro where they tried to wean her from the respirator. After the weaning was unsuccessful, she was transferred to a facility in Rossmoor, California, where she spent the next two years. Her children made sure one of them visited every day. Kevin brought fresh flowers continually, and they would sit and watch college football (her choice, not his) and sitcoms. Rossmoor took very good care of her there, and she felt safe. After she graduated from high school, she had dyed her hair from brown to platinum blonde like Marilyn Monroe, and she went to a hairdresser every Saturday for the rest of her life. When she first went into the care facility in 2008, she was fading. When Kevin found a hairdresser who would come to her room and do her hair and make-up, she perked right up. He thinks it added a year to her life.
Dolores passed away on Holy Saturday, April 3, 2010, but the machine kept her breathing. The family all gathered on Easter Sunday to turn off the respirator and let her go. The official cause of death was anoxic brain injury as a complication of diabetes melletis. She was 79 years old. After a mass at Epiphany church presided over by both two St. Ignatius presidents, she was interred with John in Holy Angels Mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery. She would have appreciated the bouquet of plastic red baby roses with an angel figurine that adorns her resting place. She loved roses and angels. In the afternoon during the summer, a shaft of light from the skylight falls across the stone, just like when she sat dozing in the sun on the bench by her son’s pool.
After her passing, Dave moved out of the house and Dolores’ grandsons Rudraigh and Cian moved in. Like Catherine watching over Laura on Capistrano, they feel Dolores watching over them. One of her phrases that she picked up from her mother was “I’ll come back to haunt you!” They know they have to keep the house or she will.
In May of 2008, her children convinced her to go to the emergency room because of problems with her legs, but, while there, she had a panic attack and could not breathe. The medical staff had to intubate her. Over the next two months, she was unable to be weaned from the respirator. She had a tracheotomy and spent the next two years in a facility in Rossmoor, California. It was very expensive, but John’s financial acumen left her in a good enough situation to deal with it. Her children made sure one of them visited every day. Kevin brought fresh flowers continually, and they would sit and watch college football (her choice, not his) and sitcoms. Rossmoor took very good care of her there, and she felt safe. Her biggest frustration at the time was that she missed her granddaughter Ceri’s final school musical, Mame, and her graduation.
After a month in St. Francis’ ICU, it was determined that she needed a tracheotomy to replace the breathing tube. She was transferred to a hospital in San Leandro where they tried to wean her from the respirator. After the weaning was unsuccessful, she was transferred to a facility in Rossmoor, California, where she spent the next two years. Her children made sure one of them visited every day. Kevin brought fresh flowers continually, and they would sit and watch college football (her choice, not his) and sitcoms. Rossmoor took very good care of her there, and she felt safe. After she graduated from high school, she had dyed her hair from brown to platinum blonde like Marilyn Monroe, and she went to a hairdresser every Saturday for the rest of her life. When she first went into the care facility in 2008, she was fading. When Kevin found a hairdresser who would come to her room and do her hair and make-up, she perked right up. He thinks it added a year to her life.
Dolores passed away on Holy Saturday, April 3, 2010, but the machine kept her breathing. The family all gathered on Easter Sunday to turn off the respirator and let her go. The official cause of death was anoxic brain injury as a complication of diabetes melletis. She was 79 years old. After a mass at Epiphany church presided over by both two St. Ignatius presidents, she was interred with John in Holy Angels Mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery. She would have appreciated the bouquet of plastic red baby roses with an angel figurine that adorns her resting place. She loved roses and angels. In the afternoon during the summer, a shaft of light from the skylight falls across the stone, just like when she sat dozing in the sun on the bench by her son’s pool.
After her passing, Dave moved out of the house and Dolores’ grandsons Rudraigh and Cian moved in. Like Catherine watching over Laura on Capistrano, they feel Dolores watching over them. One of her phrases that she picked up from her mother was “I’ll come back to haunt you!” They know they have to keep the house or she will.
