Dolores "Dolly" O'Hare

Dolly OHare, 92, of Great Falls, passed away peacefully, with family nearby, on March 22, 2016 at the Great Falls home she had occupied for more than 60 years.A vigil service will be Monday, March 28, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. The funeral liturgy will be Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. The family will have a private committal at Mount Olivet Cemetery.Dolores Josephine Hoyt was born on April 7, 1923 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Ray and Aggie Hoyt. With two brothers and three sisters, she spent her childhood and early adult years in Sioux Falls, attending and graduating from St. Joseph Cathedral High School in 1941. During her teenage years, she was an active and skilled competitor in local and regional tennis circles.On December 14, 1943, Dolly married Wilfred T. (Bud) OHare, home on leave from the Army for this happy occasion. They remained a devoted couple for more than 56 years until his death in 2000. During those years of marriage, Dolly and Bud produced nine offspring, three boys and six girls, all of whom grew up and took their education through high school in Great Falls. The siblings currently live in various locations across the U.S. from California to Florida. Son Richard passed away in 2004.Throughout her long and full life, Dolly was devoted to her family and to her Catholic faith. She participated actively in the lives of her children, working closely with the schools they attended and enjoyed her time as a spectator at the various athletic endeavors in which all of the children engaged. And, perhaps as a result of both her own athletic background and the activities of her children, she became a lifelong sports fan, interested most particularly in college and professional football until virtually the end of her life. Anyone who ever took a walk with Dolly knew she walked to Mass in the morning and consistently logged at least three miles every day at a pace with which few people could keep up. She was an accomplished seamstress and quilter who donated many of her quilts to the Linus Project. She was a frequent volunteer for years at the Charlie Russell Museum.Dolly also worked closely with the Catholic parishes to which the family belonged. She was a member of Holy Family Parish for many decades, and most recently a member of Holy Spirit Parish. With other parishioners, quite a few of them her close acquaintances, she participated in the funeral-related services which the parishes made available to the families of recently deceased parish members. She likewise, was a regular visitor at the local Park Place Health Care/Nursing Center, where she visited residents and assisted in the preparations for the Catholic liturgical services offered there. She took communion and good thoughts to friends, either at their homes or at the hospital. Her health was sufficiently strong that she was able to continue these activities even when she had surpassed 90 years of age.Dolly was a faithful wife, an exemplary mother, a devoted adherent of her faith, but she was not completely defined by these roles. Above all, she was an extremely resilient person, with nine children perhaps she had no choice. She possessed a deep reservoir of optimism and cheerfulness imbued with a subtle and slightly devilish sense of humor. Her family and friends will always remember her as an individual who met life head-on, handled the encounter with grace and strength, and then left the world a better place than she found it.Dolly was preceded in death by her husband Bud and her son Richard.Dolly is survived by her sons, Tim (Lili) of Daly City, CA and Jim (Joan) of Spokane, WA; daughters Maureen Lauden, Deb (Mike) O'Hare-Parchen, and Peg (Darrel) OHare-Becker all of Great Falls, Mary Kay (Clark) Dobson of Jupiter, FL, Julie (Jim) Elwell of Overland Park, KS, and Patty OHare (Randy) of Georgetown, CA.; 18 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.In lieu of flowers, donations to Holy Spirit Catholic Church, the Linus Project or the McLaughlin Center for Alzheimer's research would be appreciated.