Lee, NH – Dolores Cannizzaro, 90, of Lee passed away on Wednesday, May 11th, 2022.
Dolores was born in Brooklyn, NY on February 3,1932 to her parents Shirley and Robert Spear. Dolores shared a happy childhood with her younger sister Eleanor. Upon her graduation from Jefferson High in 1950, Dolores worked as a secretary for a toy company in Manhattan. One of her fondest memories was hearing Louis Prima sing the song “Dolores” at a live concert that she attended in the city.
Dolores eventually met Charles Cannizzaro and found out that they had grown up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood but had never met. They dated and eventually married on July 11,1958. Their personalities sparked one another, her feistiness, good humor, and capacity for laughter somehow mixing nicely with his strong sense of self-discipline, intellectual and academic curiosity and mischievous sense of humor. They adopted a son James, born on June 21,1965 and named after Charles’ recently deceased father. They then adopted a daughter Karen in Calgary, Canada, born on February 12,1967.
Dolores and Charles loved each other deeply and had a happy marriage. They lived in Palos Verdes, CA, Ridgewood, NJ and briefly again in Brooklyn before settling in Holliston, MA. Dolores was a devoted and loving mother and housewife and was a great cook. The smell of her potato pancakes and her laughter constantly filled the air. Her children had many fond recollections of watching TV shows and movies with her. Dolores’ commentary and criticism created lifelong memories. Her children especially remember her nearly falling off her theater seat during a theatrical viewing of The Blues Brothers.
The family eventually moved to Amherst, NH where Dolores indulged a passion for gardening. She also enjoyed casinos, traveling, shopping, jewelry and designer handbags. She collected teapots, loved knitting and was an active member of the local Lioness Club. Dolores continued to love and take care of her family and was a constant source of amusement for both her friends and her children’s friends, all of them being charmed by her boundless good humor and boisterous spirit. Dolores and Charles eventually moved to Apache Junction, AZ upon Charles’ retirement from Digital Equipment Corporation. Dolores eventually became a welcoming mother-in-law when both of her children married and became parents, making her a proud grandmother. Her beloved Charlie passed away in 2008 and she moved in with Karen and her family in 2014.
Up until the end of her life, Dolores enjoyed a lobster dinner, a game of bingo and her adored tea with lemon. She passed away on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, of renal failure. She is survived by her sister Eleanor of Florida, her son James, daughter-in-law Lori and grandchild Andy of Mansfield, MA and her daughter Karen, son-in-law Robert and grandchild Silas of Lee, NH. She will be remembered with love and affection by all her friends and family.
Family services will take place at Mountain View Funeral Home in Mesa, Arizona. A celebration of Dolores’ life will follow in New Hampshire in the summer of 2022.
