Dolores McCaffery

1926 - 2021

Dolores Catherine (McGarry) McCaffery
November 19, 1926– September 16, 2021
Dolores McCaffery passed away in Tacoma, WA, on September 16, 2021 at the age of 94. She leaves behind her devoted children, Claire (Richard) Griffin, Jean Clark, Brian (Christine) McCaffery, and Eileen (Robert) McCaffery-Lent; her adoring granddaughters, Kathryn Clark, Laura Clark, and Dylan Clark; her first cousin, Patricia Kennedy Fernandez; and the McGarry cousins in Chicago.

Born in Chicago to John and Catherine Kennedy McGarry, Dolores grew up in San Francisco, California where she attended Most Holy Redeemer Grade School and St. Vincent High School. Dolores graduated with a degree in English in 1947 from the San Francisco College for Women. Her school days were filled with academic excellence, theater, service, and journalism. After college, she began teaching in South San Francisco and while in graduate school at the University of San Francisco, she met Joe McCaffery. They soon began dating, but unbeknownst to him, she had a pre-determined deadline by which he had to either fish or cut bait. That was Dolores! Fortunately for each of them, as well as their future offspring, Joe proposed in the nick of time, and they were married on August 9, 1952. For the next few decades, Dolores embraced and endured the challenges of being a mother to four children. She was active in her parish, serving several terms as President of the St. Brendan's Mothers' Club. She served in the same capacity at her daughters' high school, Mercy High, and held leadership positions in the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women as well as the Archdiocesan Parent Teacher Group.

In 1974 Dolores returned to the workforce, serving at the Chancery Office of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Although her title was Executive Secretary, she was much more than that. As one of her bosses emphasized, "She was a full collaborator with us and maybe didn't realize how many more miles a day we could go because she was peddling the bike fast with us." After seventeen years of devoted service, Dolores retired in 1991, and was able to devote more time to her interests in reading, football, and travel. She and Joe took nearly 100 trips over several decades, ultimately visiting all 7 continents. Multiple visits to London and New York enabled Dolores to regularly refresh her life-long love of theater. She was an inveterate photographer, and her children suspect that she holds the world's record for the sheer volume of family portraits. Dolores was a devoted friend, maintaining strong ties for many decades with alumni from Lone Mountain and fellow parishioners at St. Brendan's, while embracing new friendships late in life once she and Joe moved to Franke Tobey Jones in Tacoma, WA in 2009 where they became members of Holy Cross Parish.

Dolores was a fierce and vital supporter of her children, a passion she demonstrated in countless ways both during their childhoods and their adult lives. Whether attending their athletic and dramatic performances, working long nights around the kitchen table with Joe to figure out ways to fund their educations, or simply celebrating their successes and providing solace amidst failure, her children never had reason to doubt who their Number One Fan was. She shared this same unconditional support with her three granddaughters and loved and cherished the distinct individuals they each are. The only person who exceeded them all in her estimation was her beloved, Joe, who preceded her in death by only seven months. Dolores often explained that without Joe's love and fidelity, she could never have become the person she was--not because she needed Joe to be complete, but because he allowed her to be completely who she was. Not surprisingly, Joe felt exactly the same way about her.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 am on Tuesday, October 12, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Tacoma, and will be streamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp5Rz8Et0iU
Interment will follow immediately at Gethsemane Cemetery in Federal Way, WA.