Mary Dolan

1957 - 2026

Mary Terese Dolan died unexpectedly on January 29, 2026.



Mary was born on October 22, 1957 in Sacramento, California to Edward J. Dolan and Mary Terese Oehlrich Dolan. She was the oldest of five sisters.



While her parents were respectively from Lloyd, Montana and Columbus, Nebraska, the Dolan family spent their entire lives in Sacramento. Mary's love of many things included the arts and travel starting in Sacramento and then expanding across many countries.



She was able to enjoy the small town feel of the state's capital that included walking to school unaccompanied, riding bicycles around the neighborhood, and taking bus rides downtown to the K Street mall to go the movies. Mary also enjoyed ice skating with her mother and sisters at Iceland. The close proximity to San Francisco was the start of many trips for theatre, opera and ballet. And in the other direction a summer vacation at Lake Tahoe became an annual event. Trips to Carmel and Pajaro Dunes were then added as annual three-day weekend events. Mary loved the ocean and taking long walks on the beach collecting shells along the way.



Mary was a gifted pianist and patiently accompanied the singing of carols at the annual family Christmas Eve party. She also played the violin in the orchestra throughout both junior high and high school. Her love of music encompassed classical, opera, ballet and musical theatre and started with The Sacramento Symphony, Tiny Tots Concerts, The Music Circus, The Sacramento Ballet, The San Francisco Opera – all regular stops throughout her childhood and youth. In adulthood she expanded her theatre viewing to many shows on Broadway and in London.



Mary was a voracious reader. Her letters to the editor at The Sacramento Bee were published a few times. As a child she finished the entire Nancy Drew collection in record time, then moved on to the classics and New York Times bestsellers. Her vocabulary was extensive and she had the gift of using just the right word or phrase to describe a moment. Mary was a gifted writer. She wrote fiction as well as her reflections about special moments in her life. She had the ability to paint a picture while also evoking emotions that transported the reader.



Starting in the 1990s Mary started to travel extensively. It did not take long for that first trip to New York City to seem like a drive to San Francisco. There were multiple trips to New York and then trips to London, Paris, Africa, Tahiti, Switzerland, Austria, Australia and Antarctica.



Following graduation from John F. Kennedy High School, Mary attended Sacramento City College where she received an Associates Arts Degree. Shortly thereafter she accepted a full-time position with the Los Rios Community College District as an Instructional Services Assistant. For over 43 years she built lasting and meaningful relationships until her recent retirement in June 2025.



Mary is survived by her four sisters Cynthia Dolan, Stephanie Dolan, Denise Bannister and Leslie Silveira; brothers in-law, David Broussal, Bill Bannister and Matt Silveira; cousins MimiDene Zanze, John Zanze and Walter Zanze. She is also survived by loving family in Montana, Oregon, Arizona, Washington and North Carolina.



A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00PM, Sunday, April 12, 2026, at Sierra 2 located at 2791 24th Street, Curtis Hall, Sacramento, CA 95818.



In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made to Broadway at Music Circus at https://my.broadwaysacramento.com/donate/i/tribute .