Dorothy Jones DeRenzo

Dorothy Jones DeRenzo, 81, of Cheshire. Connecticut died peacefully at home on Monday, October 22, 2007 after a lengthy battle with pulmonary fibrosis. She was born August 15, 1926 in Wilkes Barre, PA to immigrant parents, coal miner David Isaac Jones and nurse Ellen Barden Jones. She lived in Swoyersville, PA until age 15, when her family moved to the Bronx. Dorothy graduated from Walton High School, and in 1945, from Hunter College in Manhattan with a BS in chemistry. While at Hunter, she was a member of Alpha Sigma Rho Sorority. The summer after graduation, by working seven days a week for Western Union, she was able to make enough. money to attend graduate school that fall at Fordham University in the Bronx. She graduated with an MS in biochemistry in 1947 from Fordham, where she met her husband of 38 years Edward C. DeRenzo, Ph.D. Dorothy worked as a biochemist at Pfizer and Killian Research Laboratories until taking time off to raise her four daughters. Ed and Dot made their home in Hillsdale NJ, where Dot was a Girl Scout leader and member of the World Federalists. In 1967. she went back to work as a technical editor for Noyes Data Corporation in Park Ridge NJ. In 1993, she moved to Cheshire, CT. Until her disease prevented her from traveling, Dot enjoyed spending time in the summer with her children and grandchildren at her home on Lake Sunapee, NH, where she and her husband vacationed since 1952. Dorothy was an opera lover, avid reader, and news fanatic. There was nothing she enjoyed more than listening to the Saturday afternoon opera live from the Met, while doing a crossword puzzle. Dorothy was predeceased by her husband Ed who died in 1988, and she died on the 57th anniversary of their wedding. Her brother, James Jones, also predeceased her. She is survived by her four daughters and their families; Anne and Peter D. Schellie of Annapolis, Maryland and their chi1dren Kate and David Schellie; Susan and Eric J. Nestler, M.D., of Dallas. Texas and their children. David, Matthew and Jane Nestler, Lisa DeRenzo and Mark A. Rosenblum of West Hartford, Connecticut and their daughters, Carrie, Anne and Sarah Rosenblum; and Linda DeRenzo and her partner Clarise Snyder, of Newton, Massachusetts. She is also survived by her brother. Daniel Jones, of New Jersey, and foster brothers Charles and Robert Corcoran of Maryland; and by her many loving in-laws, her devoted nieces and nephews and friends too numerous to mention. Dorothy's stubborn refusal to be slowed by her chronic illness was an inspiration to all who knew her, none of whom found her indefatigable spirit in the face of such adversity to be in the least surprising. She lived her whole life embracing a fierce independence, competitiveness and unwillingness to quit. She was a kind and loving wife, mother and friend and lived her life, to the end with dignity and grace. The family will receive friends at 10:00 am on Friday, October 26th, at the Hawthorne Funeral Home. Hawthorne, NY with a funeral mass to follow at 11:30 am held at the Chapel of Gate of Heaven Cemetery, also in Hawthorne. Details are available at www.hawthomefunera1home.com. Contributions in Dorothy's memory may be made to the Dorothy J. DeRenzo Fund c/o Hunter College Foundation, Hunter College, 695 Park Ave, NY. NY lOO21.The fund will support women studying the sciences at Hunter.

Born in Wilkes Barre, PA on Aug. 15, 1926
Departed on Oct. 22, 2007 and resided in Cheshire, CT.

Visitation: Friday, Oct. 26, 2007
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Service: Friday, Oct. 26, 2007
11:30 am - 12:15 pm

Cemetery: Gate of Heaven Cemetery

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