Cynthia Burress Dolvin

Cynthia Burress Dolvin died on April 23 at Goodwin House in Falls Church, Virginia. She was 101 years old.
Mrs. Dolvin was born in Lexington, Virginia on August 7, 1923. She graduated from Stuart Hall in Staunton, Virginia, and from Holton-Arms, then a junior college in Washington, DC.
She married Welborn Griffin Dolvin, the son of a Georgia farmer, at Fort Benning, Georgia, where her father was commanding general, and where then Col. Dolvin was attending the Command and General Staff School. Her husband's long career took the family to many postings, including stints in Germany, France, Bangkok, and Japan. After retirement General and Mrs. Dolvin settled in Arlington, Virginia, spending much of their time at a rural retreat in King and Queen County. After General Dolvin's death in 1991, Mrs. Dolvin spent her long widowhood in Arlington before moving to Goodwin House in Falls Church in 2011.
Cynthia Dolvin was a brilliant asset to her husband's career, performing the ceremonial duties of an officer's wife with grace and style. She was a devoted mother to her three children, and an even more devoted grandmother to her fortunate grandchildren. Beautiful, funny and affectionate, she provided a home to her migrating family, and a safe haven to her grandchildren, every one of whom thought they were her favorite.
She surrounded herself with beauty. She loved to laugh, especially at herself. She was always willing to read to children. She loved Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, and would write doggerel for any occasion. She always had a Hershey bar in her pocketbook.
She is survived by her daughter, Virginia Dolvin Peabody (David), of Alexandria, her son Charles Alexander Dolvin (Susan) of Oakton, her daughter-in-law Karen Dolvin, of Woodford, and seven grandchildren, Rufus, Eliza and Tom Peabody, and Matthew, Katherine, Lydia and Daniel Dolvin, and two great-grandchildren, Everett and Charlotte Buzby. Her son Welborn Griffin Dolvin, Jr., known as Wes, died in 2009.
There will be a funeral service at Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill in Alexandria on May 31 at 11 am.