Dolores Deran Dwelle

Dolores Deran Dwelle of Darien, CT passed away on February 21, 2017 at Norwalk Hospital after a brief illness. She was 88. Born in 1928, Dolores was raised in Darien as the middle child of the five children of Leon and Elizabeth Deran. Dolores attended Darien High School (class of 1946) and worked in her father's photography business. In 1955, she married Edwin (Ned) R. Dwelle, a WWII Flying Tiger veteran and Princeton University graduate who worked as an executive for the Monsanto Company Textiles Division in New York City. Dolores and Ned settled in West Norwalk and there raised five children. Dolores took great pride in her husband, in her children, in her home, and in her role as a homemaker. She was an avid gardener, excellent cook, and a generous entertainer. She loved sitting at the beach, shopping for antiques, knitting and needlepointing, and solving the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle. Dolores was adventurous and fun and loved travel and being outdoors. She always had her camera handy, and delighted in taking photos of her family. Dolores moved to Fairfield in the mid-1990s and lived there for 19 years. She was a devoted volunteer at Norwalk Hospital for 16 years, where she sat as Chair of the Babies Alumni program on Norwalk Hospital's Volunteer Board, worked with the Pet Therapy Program, and delivered flowers. Dolores was presented a 2000 Hour service pin by the hospital shortly before her retirement in 2015. Dolores is predeceased by her husband, Edwin R. Dwelle II, her son, Paul D. Dwelle, her brother Lt. Leon Deran, sisters Jean D. Montaperto and Lucille D. Smith, and sister-in-law Elizabeth D. Halliday. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Elaine and Joseph Kilbourn, and her children, David and Joan Dwelle, Melinda and Mark Vallerie, Susan and Todd Maziar, Edwin and Cynthia Dwelle, and Lisa Dwelle. She is also survived by her eleven grandchildren, Scott and Craig Dwelle, Christopher and Michael Vallerie, Nathan and Joseph Maziar, Matthew and Emily Dwelle, and Justin, Jessica and Jack Dwelle. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Monday, February 27, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at St. John's Roman Catholic Church, 1986 Post Road, Darien, CT. Interment will follow at Spring Grove Cemetery. Family and friends may call at the Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road, Darien, CT on Sunday, February 26, 2017 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Norwalk Hospital Babies Alumni, 34 Maple Street, Norwalk, CT 06856. How can one person be so important to so many? We are a big family and-"Dolores," "Mom," "Aunt Dodo," "Grandma" – she meant the world to all of us. At almost 89 and diagnosed recently with Parkinson's, we knew this day would come. But Grandma kept surprising us with her physical and mental strength, exceeding all of her doctor's expectations. She was a true fighter and gave us 4 ½ months more than the doctors thought was likely. So what made Grandma special? If she heard me asking this question she would probably dismiss it with that little hand-flip of hers (show) and a smirk. But as we stand here today and speak on behalf of our family who loved her so much, these are some thoughts we'd like to share. She was funny. Grandma had a quick wit and enjoyed making others laugh. She was also quick to recognize a good line and to compliment whoever said what she thought was clever. She seemed to enjoy subtle wit most of all. And even though her recent illness prevented her from breaking into her old broad smile, the jokes kept coming, the humor remained, and when she was happy – which was almost always– you could still see it on her face. She was proud. Her heritage was important to her and so was insuring that we all knew the stories of the "Coming to America. "She recently gave each family a small hand-made binder that detailed the story of her father and his family's escape from the Armenian Genocide and their arrival at Ellis Island. The binder included an illustration of the ship they traveled on and a manifest listing names and ages of all its passengers. Her father was only 12 and his baby brother was 2. Her mother's family came from Ireland, also looking for a better life in America, and Grandma loved to proudly declare she was "half Irish and half Armenian." Green was plentiful on St. Patrick's Day. She woke up every day with a purpose. Grandma greeted all with a cheerful "good morning". A good day was a day full of accomplishment. She did everything with a sense of perfection. For example, everything she planted, she planted from seed. Her specialties were zinnias, impatiens and tomato plants. She taught us that if you pinch back emerging plants as they developed more shoots, their stalks would grow thick and the plants would be massive. Her gardens drew raves from passers-by. She was our meteorologist. Grandma loved to closely monitor weather reports, temperature highs and lows, when the tide would be high and when it would be low, when the sun would rise and when it would set, when the leaves began to change, and, on every December 22, she would announce that the days were finally getting longer. If anybody in the family was out-of-state or traveling, they knew they could call Command Central and Dolores would answer with an up-to-date weather report… always including whether there was a chance of rain or snow. She was fun. She liked to vacation with family, whether it be Vermont, Georgia, Hilton Head or Florida. Grandma also had a slight gambling problem when it came to professional football, and she was a regular in the weekly family $5 pool. This was no joke and not done just to be nice. She wanted to win. There was always afternoon tea. Just a splash of milk. And a glass of wine with dinner. Some of our fondest memories were spending holidays and birthdays together, sometimes eating indoors, sometimes eating out; big salads, trays of Grandma's famous lasagna, and spaghetti with homemade meatballs. And, then, if she needed more food, Post Corner Pizza. She always took pictures. As one of five children of a well-known photographer, Grandma always had her camera at hand. One of her prized possessions was a beautiful camera that Uncle Paul brought her back from Taiwan. She used that camera for what seemed like forever. She resisted the digital age and every Christmas she'd gift each family the duplicate photos leftover from when customers used to get two copies for the price of one. She was wise. Grandma was not only smart, but also well-read and up to date. She loved crossword puzzles, especially the one in the Sunday New York Times Magazine. Grandma would call her kids for help with the clues and then, once the puzzle was done (sometimes days later), she would call everyone back to announce that she had finished the puzzle. Grandma was curious, and kind, and was a woman of strong faith. Her church was important to her. She treated everyone equally and fairly and didn't play favorites. She celebrated our accomplishments, no matter how big or small. Our education was very important to her. She made us all knitted hats, scarves and Afghans. She gave sound advice and was a good listener, with a knack for remembering the details. She was our biggest cheerleader, but she also wasn't shy about letting us know when she thought we were wrong or making a mistake. She always remembered everyone's birthday, and would remind the rest of us so we wouldn't forget. Every year she called and sang "Happy Birthday to You," even leaving the song on the answering machine if we weren't home. We are going to miss her homemade chocolate chip cookies - the ones she hand delivered or mailed long distances in old shoeboxes lined with aluminum foil. We'll end with a quote Grandma said often: "Parting is such sweet sorrow." Grandma, please give our love to Grandpa and Uncle Paul and the rest of the family. Till we meet again. We love you.