Dolores M. Durrell

Dolores Marie (Perry) Durrell, 88, died at Life Care Center of Merrimack Valley on February 18th, 2021 after a period of declining health. Dolores was born in Cambridge. She moved to Somerville as a young girl and attended school there, graduating from Somerville High School. She worked at Hyde Rubber Company after High School and then worked at Raytheon, where she stayed until moving to Belmont after she married. Dolores met her husband, Roland at Chelsea Naval Hospital in 1951. Little did she know that visiting her friend's beau, who was Roland's roommate at the hospital, would lead her to meet her husband. Their romance moved fast. They met in the summer, got engaged in September and were married the following July. Dolores and Roland would have been married sixtynine years this July and had two daughters, Darlene and Lisa. Later in life, Dolores and her husband were very involved in the VFW, the Ladies Auxiliary and the Sons of Italy. She enjoyed traveling and went on several trips with her friends that she met through these organizations. She loved yard sales and truly enjoyed the thrill of the hunt to find her latest treasures. She entertained quite frequently in her younger years and always enjoyed using her fine china pieces. She was an avid animal lover and enjoyed attending religious mass when able. As life progressed and her family grew, her youngest daughter Lisa married and she finally had a son in the family. She treated him as if he were her own. Her daughter Lisa would joke that she liked him best of all. Dolores found her true joy in life when she became a grandmother. Her two grandsons meant the world to her and nothing stood in the way of her being with them. They sold their home in Belmont after forty years and moved to Billerica in 1997 to be able to help care for them. Most grandmothers carry pictures in their wallet of their grandchildren, but Dolores carried 5X7 glossies of them. She was so proud and would talk about them to anyone who would listen. In the last few years, Dolores health began to decline and she was not able to do most of the things that she loved. She was able to remain at home until the last month of her life when her care required more professional help. Her daughter Darlene retired and was able to care for her at home for as long as possible. Dolores was predeceased by her parents, Joseph Perry and Amelia (Todi) Perry, sister; Helen and her husband Charles Saltmarsh, brother; Joseph Perry Jr., sister; Gloria Skarry, two cousins; Louise Raia and Merna Prugnarola and brothers-in-law; Joseph McInnis and Clayton Durrell. She is survived by her husband Roland Durrell, daughters; Darlene Durrell and Lisa Durrell Richardson and her husband John Thomas Richardson and two grandsons; Tyler Richardson and Nolan Richardson, all of Billerica. She is also survived by her in-laws; Donald and Juanita Pierce of Woodstock, New Hampshire and Wanda McInnis of Lincoln, New Hampshire as well as many nieces and nephews. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated in St. Theresa Church, 466 Boston Road, Billerica on February 23rd at 10A.M. Relatives and friends are most welcome to attend. Interment will be held in the Fox Hill Cemetery in Billerica. For additional information, please visit www.burkemagliozzi.com. In lieu of flowers, Dolores family requests that donations be made in her name to two organizations that were very important to her, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN. 03105. or The Massachusetts Humane Society, P.O. Box 850177, Braintree, MA. 02185.