Marie Louise Dofton

Sweet Marie was born Marie Louise Florentine Raes on January 8th 1937 in the village of Sinaai, located in the East Flanders region of Belgium. She was the second youngest of 15 children, with 8 sisters and 6 brothers. Her father Kamiel and mother Sophie Nathalie had a farm raising cows, pigs, lambs, ducks, geese, rabbits, pheasants & chickens, and also cultivated fruit and vegetables. While there was always a lot of work to do on the farm, her childhood was full of happy memories with her siblings, where they all learned the lessons of hard work, responsibility, and countless skills that served them well throughout their lives.

Marie went to school in Sinaai until she was 14, as was the custom at the time, and then lived with her older sister Lea and her family in Sint Niklaas, helping her out with her shop, around the house, and with her four children. Her teenage years and early 20s were full of fun times going out with her younger sister and best friend Fernanda. From 18 years old Marie started working at a local Textile Workshop, honing her sewing skills, and quickly taking on more responsibility until she became manager of the workshop. She did this until she decided to go to America in 1963 at 26 years old, to visit her Uncle Joe and Aunt Louise in Binghamton, New York. Marie quickly found a job in a Tent & Awning producer and later as a seamstress in Kroehler’s, a local furniture factory, while learning English and enjoying the local nightlife in the evenings. It was at Kroehlers where she met her future husband, Big Jim Dofton, and after a short courtship they married in 1964 and then moved to New York City where they welcomed their daughter Gina Chantal in 1965. After moving back to Binghamton in 1966, Marie worked as a foster mother to 10 delinquent boys in the Susquehanna Valley Home, where son Jimmy followed in 1967.

In 1970 the family moved to Glenolden Pennsylvania in order to get into the retail shoe business partnering with an old friend, with their first store J&A Shoes in Morton, which later became Deena Shoes where there were several Philadelphia area locations. It was a true family business, with Marie and Jim operating the stores, Jimmy helping out for a short time during school vacations, and later on Gina managed one of the stores as well. In 1976 they bought a house on Golf Hills Road in Havertown. Marie decorated the house with drapes and many other things that she made herself, painting and wall-papering, and created an amazing vegetable garden that year after year yielded a phenomenal harvest. Marie’s abundance of energy and stamina earned her the nickname “The Bionic Woman”. Jim & Marie closed Deena Shoes at the end of 2007 and retired. In 2009 Marie went to Belgium for the birth of her only grandchild Zoë, which was a particularly special time and a big help for Jimmy & Cherry. In 2013, after breaking her back several times, the difficult decision was taken to move out of their dream house for one floor living in a condo at Green Hill.

At Green Hill Marie and Jim quickly made new friends and during the pool season their cabana was the place to be for their famous happy hours. They also took several trips to Belgium to visit Jimmy, Cherry & Zoë & Marie’s relatives, with excursions to the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Prague, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. In October 2022 Marie suffered a stroke which slowed her down considerably, and then Big Jim passed away in March 2023. Her loving daughter Gina dedicated herself to be with her on a daily basis going to the pool, playing Rummikub, and enjoying meals together.

Over the years Marie suffered from hearing loss, a chronic bad back that she fractured several times, shingles & neuralgia, and suffered a stroke after kidney cancer surgery. Throughout all of her ailments and pain, she always put a smile on her brave face, instead keeping her focus positive on living her best life through all of the challenges. Her attitude, courage, discipline, will power, and strength of character have been incredibly inspiring to all who knew her. Sweet Marie was a woman of many talents with a heart of gold, and always tried to look better than she felt. Perhaps her greatest talent was her ability to prepare and cook so many different dishes, whether it was for an everyday dinner, snacks for a party or happy hour, or a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, the common denominator is that it was always amazingly delicious. After being admitted to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism and other complications, Sweet Marie joined the other angels in Heaven on December 28th, 2025. She was the very best sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend that any of us could have ever dreamed of having, and we are truly blessed and grateful for everything she has done for us. With the help of Saint Anthony, may she find her way to eternal peace.

Sweet Marie is survived by:

Her daughter Gina C. Dofton & Robert Sharkus
Her son James K. Dofton, daughter-in-law Hongwei "Cherry" Zhao & grand-daughter Zoë Dofton
Her brothers Jozef Raes and André Raes
Her sister Fernanda Raes
Her brother-in-law Paul Dofton and partner Joan Davis
Her sister-in-law Ruth Dofton
Her Belgian and Binghamton extended family

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to a charity in Marie’s honor.
As she always loved and cared for the birds wherever she lived, donations can be made in her honor to the Audubon Society - Pennsylvania via the following website: https://act.audubon.org/a/donate-pennsylvania

Alternatively, since she was legally deaf and her hearing loss was her most challenging disability, a donation can be made in her honor to the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (PSD) via the following website: https://psd.org/getinvolved/