Obituary of Dorothy Colombo

Dorothy Marie “Dolly” Colombo leaves a legacy of family. Dolly passed away at her home with her family at her bedside after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 84 years old. Dolly was born in Boston, the daughter of the late Peter and Lena Cipriano. She grew up and was educated in East Boston in a home filled with Italian ethnicities. She learned from her mother who learned from hers the values, talents, and responsibilities to care for and protect her family. Dolly and her husband Joe moved their growing family from the city to the small town of Burlington. He purchased the land and built their home with his own hands. She spent 55 years maintaining, decorating and redecorating her home to make it a warm and welcoming place for her family. She was a fantastic cook and her kitchen was always filled with delicious aromas and creations. Family dinners were the routine. Dolly was the one who could juggle running a home filled with 5 very active children and their friends and later 11 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren with a simple and sweet demeanor. She was very involved in all her families care and interests. She was always available to help watch a grandchild, sit in the stands to watch a game, or in the audience for a graduation, recital, or any other event or activity which was important to those she loved. Dolly spent days preparing for the holidays with Christmas being one of her most favorite. Shopping was not just a chore, but a welcomed break in a day. She enjoyed walking the neighborhood on a regular basis. When her children were old enough she enjoyed traveling the world, especially warm weather destinations, with her husband, Joe. They went on numerous cruises and trips to Aruba, and Hawaii. Dolly was proud of her role as wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend and she has left a heart print on all those she has loved and cared for in her life time. Dolly was the loving wife of 64 years to her husband Joseph Colombo. She was the loving mother of Salvatore & his wife Susan of Woburn, Sandra McGrath & her husband Chuck of Marlborough, Linda Strait her husband David of Waltham, Joseph & his wife Nancy of Burlington, and Karen of Woburn. Sister of Peter Cipriano of E. Boston, Robert Cipriano of Old Orchard Beach, ME, the late Rose DelSapio, Angie Henry, and Pat Cipriano. She was the proud grandmother of Michelle Garside, Jessica Vaughan, Jennifer O’Hare, Brian Strait, Erika & Rachel Swanson, Christina McGrath, Michael, Joseph, Tina, and Steven Colombo. She was the great grandmother of Max Correia, Jacob & Thomas Colombo, Ava & Harrison Vaughan, and Sienna O’Hare. Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (exit 34 off Rt. 128/95, Woburn side) on Friday June 13 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington at noon. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Memorials in Dorothy’s name may be made to Care Dimensions, 70 Walnut St., Suite 301, Wellesley, MA 02481. Eulogy by Rachel Swanson As I sat down with my mother, aunts, and cousins to begin to list all of the things we loved about my nana, we had no idea where to even begin. After 64 years of marriage, 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren – what else more needs to be said? My nana was a devoted wife to my papa Joe, as well as the most self-less and caring mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. Our family referred to Dolly as the queen on a daily basis. And if you have ever met any of the Colombo women, you know that is a trait that each and every one of us inherited. Between shopping, beauty routines, and tossing out commands, she taught us all to take pride in who we are, and say how we feel. In addition, she had an untouchable ability to bargain shop. If you thought that you found a good deal, you could bet that she would find a better one. And because of this she became famous for always having new curtains, table clothes, or bed spreads. She was also known for her eye for interior design, which to her meant giving my papa a new remodeling project for the kitchen every other week. But in typical Dolly fashion, she had far too much pride to have anything that was less-than-the-best. The same went for the way she looked. My nana taught her daughters and granddaughters that lipstick and blush were a must in order to leave the house. From head to toe, she always looked her very best. After giving birth to each one of her children, this meant eating boiled fish for an entire month to lose the post-baby weight, and around the time of her children’s weddings it meant getting a new mother-of-the-bride dress every other day. No matter what stage of her life it was, she was always the most beautiful person both inside and out As Dolly’s children grew up and out of the house, her and my papa enjoyed their time traveling everywhere from Hawaii, to Aruba, to North Carolina, but as it should be no surprise, Las Vegas was always her favorite. Another thing that my nana enjoyed more than anything was cooking. And as my mother and aunts put it, she never made just a “meat and potatoes” kind-of-meal. Never using a specific recipe, she could take a few vegetables and feed a 20 person party. This is something that we saw time-and-time again at every big family gathering. From 4th of July cookouts up in NH, to Christmas Eve, she spent the days leading up to these events endlessly preparing and cooking. And despite all that she had to do, my nana welcomed help from any of her grandchildren. Family was everything to my nana, especially her marriage. My grandparent’s marriage was unique in more ways than one. Not only were they lucky enough to have shared 64 years together, they took care of one another each and every day over all these years. And as my nana leaves this world to begin her next journey, we promise to also always take care of my papa. Although our family will not be the same without her, we are all better people because we had the blessing of knowing her.