Bertha B. Dobson

Bertha B. Dobson (nee Stankiewicz) of Montvale, New Jersey, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, September 6, 2024, at the age of 97.

Beloved wife of the late Henry for 28 years. Devoted mother of Neil Dobson, Alice Coscia and her husband Tony, Jane Dobson and her husband Roy Sheldon, David Dobson and his wife Nancy. Predeceased by her son Mark Dobson and her daughter Claire Dobson Emmons and her sisters Regina and Wanda and her brother John.

Cherished grandmother of Michelle (Sawicki), Ryan and Nicole Emmons; Christine (England), Joseph, Stephen, Elizabeth (Campbell) and Marissa Coscia; and Joshua and Julia Dobson. Great grandmother of Roxanne, Abigail, Brooke, Connor, Alicia, Aurelia, and her unborn great-granddaughter due in October.

Bertha was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1927. Her parents immigrated from Poland and Bertha was fluent in Polish, often surprising her children as she broke into easy conversation with other native speakers. She was proud of her Polish ethnicity and passed down traditions that are still celebrated at family holidays. After high school, she worked at Equitable Life Insurance in Manhattan where she made lifelong friends whom she remained in touch with through visits, cards, and phone calls. She married Henry Dobson in 1954 and settled in Montvale where they raised their children. Bertha dedicated her life to her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, always focusing on their education and learning. Endearingly known as Grandma to all, she took great pleasure in the successes and happiness across all the generations of her family.

She supported her husband Henry in his pursuit of a medical career while she reared six children, and later took on the rearing of her grandchildren Michelle, Ryan and Nicole.

She looked forward to sharing travels with her children, venturing as far afield as Morocco, Ecuador, and Poland and closer to home in Block Island, Rhode Island, as well as visits to family in Massachusetts and Colorado. Day trips to Yankee Stadium, the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, museums, and Arthur Avenue in the Bronx were just a few of many excursions she shared with her beloved family. An avid newspaper reader, she was the epitome of a self-learner and could banter easily about sports, politics, or business. She and Henry maintained a summer home on Long Beach Island, where she spent many happy summers with her family, instilling in them a love of swimming, tennis and the beach. She loved nature and the outdoors and was happiest spending sunny days outside tending to her yard, along with any family members who would join her!

She was a devout Catholic and parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy in Park Ridge and St. John the Baptist R. C. Church in Hillsdale, NJ.

A Mass will be held at 10 AM on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at Church of the Presentation, Upper Saddle River, NJ, followed by interment in Ascension Cemetery, Airmont, NY.

Donations in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Valley Hospice (Valley Health System) or Tri-Boro Volunteer Ambulance Corps in memory of Bertha.

Robert Spearing Funeral Home, Inc., 155 Kinderkamack Road, Park Ridge, NJ, rsfhi.com.