Jean M. Dolen

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Jean Marie Dolen of North White Plains passed away June 23, 2022, at the age of 66 in Valhalla, NY.  Born 1955 in New Rochelle to Gertrude and James Dolen, Jean lived in Westchester most of her life and actively contributed to the well-being and vitality of the community in her work, activities, and willingness to serve.  She treasured her family and numerous friends, and was always ready to play or help out as sister, aunt, friend, colleague, or community member.  She knew nearly all the roads and byways of Westchester, as well as every hiking trail, and enjoyed guiding others in exploring the beauty of many parks and preserves.

Before moving to North White Plains, Jean grew up mainly in Larchmont, NY, and attended Saints John and Paul Church and Elementary School and Mamaroneck High School. She also lived with her family for two years in West Hartford, CT.  She earned an AAS degree in Accounting from SUNY Delhi and, while working a full-time job, earned a B.S. in Professional Computer Studies from Pace University. She was a congregant at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Valhalla, where she was active in the Women’s Club.

Jean worked for many years at New York United Hospital Medical Center in Port Chester in the Data Processing Department and, after the hospital became computerized, moved into a position as Network Support Technician. When the hospital closed, she was one of the last people working there, as she dedicated herself to making the process smooth for all the departments. Later, she was office coordinator and IT support at FUJIFILM USA. When a friend became disabled from a stroke, she spent several years caring for him in Manhattan, and brought him on many therapeutic excursions throughout the City and in the Adirondacks.

For decades Jean had hiked the 60 miles of trails at one of her favorite Westchester parks -- the Rockefeller State Park Preserve.  Four years ago Jean’s hiking companions discovered that the Preserve was looking for an office manager and they unanimously recommended Jean for the job – a perfect fit for her skills, ability with people, love of nature, and knowledge of this park. Shortly she began working there and, with her usual dedication, she also contributed her enthusiasm to many other aspects of the park, leading groups in the dark to the annual Hulda’s Night Halloween event, protecting the Preserve from misuse, and helping out at gallery events.  Writing on behalf of nature, she contributed to the Preserve Observer newsletter for Friends of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve.  With her passion for the natural world, she was a strong advocate for the lands, waters, trees and flowers at the Preserve. She and Oscar the office cat developed a deep bond, and she was the first person he trusted after his life as a stray.

Throughout her life, Jean was active in many clubs and volunteer activities as a member and a leader.  She was an officer in the Adirondack Mountain Club Mohican Chapter, and she led many group trail hikes as well as walking tours of Central Park in Manhattan. She earned membership in the Catskill 3500 Club and was the #1,000 person to complete all the mountain peaks of 3,500 feet in the Catskills. She climbed the peaks both in summer and in winter hikes. She was #49 to complete the Long Path that starts near the George Washington Bridge in New York City and goes up through the Catskills to near Albany.

Jean was also a member of the Westchester Photography Club and the 4 ^th Thursday Night Book Club hosted at the Bedford Free Library. While at United Hospital, she was a member of the hospital bowling and softball teams, and volunteered every year as a hospital employee at the annual event to open Playland Amusement Park for the season. She wrote many poems and participated in a White Plains poetry slam where she read her tender poem about the harshness of the world and the need for love.

Jean had a lifelong love of the Adirondacks, where the Dolens had family history starting in the 1920s. She vacationed there every year on her birthday so that she could spend that day hiking or paddling on a favorite lake or tributary. She took many beautiful photographs in the Adirondack Park and created a book of them, with a copy now in the Old Forge Library.  Jean also traveled to Hawaii and the West Coast, and to Europe, visiting Sweden and kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland. And she joined family and friends on a winter vacation every year for cross-country skiing at Craftsbury in Vermont.

Jean loved to spend time with her beloved nieces and nephews, who would gather around her and climb on her to wake her up early in the morning during her visits. Jean always remembered each of their birthdays and what each one was doing as they grew into adults. She introduced her companion Mark to this large family network and to many outdoor activities, before his death a few years ago.

An independent woman, Jean made numerous devoted friends throughout her life. Shy as a child, and quiet still as an adult, she attracted many people who appreciated her gentle and kind nature, her desire to help others, her dedication to her work, her love of fun and adventure, and her affinity with the natural world.  Throughout her journey with cancer, Jean amazed friends and family with her strength, determination, and zest for life, and with the contributions she still made to others and to the Rockefeller Park. Until recently, she continued to work full-time and outpaced others on hikes of many miles.  She spent her birthday last year at Nick’s Lake in the Adirondacks, nearby the cabin Grandmother Dolen had built and where her father had played as a child.

Jean is survived by three brothers and a sister and their families:  James Dolen (Margaret), Anne Dolen (Evelyn Reda), Michael Dolen (Kathleen), and John Dolen (Joan).  Another sister, Joan, died as an infant. She was a devoted and fun-loving aunt to 8 nieces and 4 nephews, now all grown:  Brian Dolen (Katie), Sean Dolen (Nicole), Alanna Dolen (Angie Gunkler), James Dolen (Suzelle Bores), Shaelyn Bagley (Daniel), Ryan Dolen (Elise), Aileen Dolen, Kaeli Dolen McCarthy, Brenna Dolen, Elena Dolen McCarthy (Sean Buckley), Emma Dolen, and Anna Dolen. She also was great-aunt to 9 grandnieces and grandnephews.  She always remembered everybody’s birthdays and was the one everyone turned to for details about the extended families.

Jean had a deep love of her family and friends, and made new friends everywhere, even in her last days. Rather than move to another location, she chose to remain in central Westchester so that she could be near her many dear friends, and she looked forward to their visits.

The family offers their gratitude to all the people who buoyed and supported Jean through her illness and freely shared their love, including lifelong friends from childhood, friends she worked with at United Hospital, longtime hiking companions, her colleagues from Rockefeller State Park Preserve, and new friends among the caregivers at Phelps Memorial Hospital and the Grove at Valhalla. Jean was supported in so many ways, from food delivery and weekly lunches out at the local diner, to laundry, rides, errands, and check-ins. In her final days she was held in love and prayer by family and friends, and showered in prayer blessings from staff at the Grove.

Funeral arrangements are detailed on the Hawthorne Funeral Home website: www.hawthornefuneralhome.com . A wake will be held on Tuesday, June 28, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Hawthorne Funeral Home, 21 Stevens Ave., Hawthorne, NY 10532. A funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday, June 29, at 11 a.m., at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Valhalla. Rev. Patrick Cahill, son of Jean’s childhood friend, Katherine McCarthy Cahill, will co-officiate the Mass.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jean’s memory to the Adirondack Mountain Club at https://adk.org or to the Foundation for Women’s Cancer at www.foundationforwomenscancer.org .

HAWTHORNE FUNERAL HOME

21 West Stevens Ave.

Hawthorne, New York 10532

914-769-4404