Dolores “Dilly” Duffey

(nee Hagopian) passed away peacefully on October 21, 2023, about two weeks after her 96^th birthday.  She was predeceased by her husband, John P. ‘Jack’ Duffey, and is survived by five children, several nieces and nephews, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Dolores graduated from Milwaukee County General Hospital Nursing School in 1949, and worked as a full-time and then part-time nurse for the next three decades.  After she hung up her nurse’s cap, she volunteered for years as a patient transporter at St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Meanwhile, Dolores maintained the family household and kept her family warm, fed, and clothed.  With five children underfoot, our home wasn’t always tidy, but it was always full of laughter and love.

Dolores also maintained some long-lived friendships, playing cards on a regular basis for decades with four women she had befriended in grade school.  She was the last of the group to pass away, so they can finally resume their five-handed game in the great beyond.

Aside from her healthcare work, Dolores also kept her friends and family in figurative stitches over the years with her sharp sense of humor.  And she never lost this gift.  When recently asked how she felt about turning 96, she replied ‘That’s too old’.

Dolores lived independently well into her 90s, moving from her Franklin condo into an apartment at St. Rita’s Square in early 2021.  She would welcome her children, and their children, into her home for big holiday gatherings, or just Sunday hot ham and rolls.

Dolores then moved into the Memory Care Community at Eastcastle Place in early 2022, and loved her cozy room and the caring staff there.  She remained fairly sharp until the end, enjoying visits from family and friends, and remembering names and anecdotes for all.  She dozed off for the final time nestled under a blanket in her favorite recliner.

Her family is eternally grateful to the staff at St. Rita’s Square and Eastcastle Place for their kind and caring hospitality.

In keeping with her wishes, there will be no memorial service.  Instead, we would ask all who knew her to pause and remember this amazing woman and the light she brought to their lives.