DOLORES “DEE” (SOAVE) SCHAFER

Dolores “Dee” (Soave) Schafer – of Woburn, died peacefully, October 27^th, with her husband of 57 years, Richard E. “Dick” Schafer, by her side. She was seventy-eight years of age. Dear sister of the late Philip Soave, Joseph Soave and Theresa Torrice. Dee is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, November 3^rd in St. Charles Parish, 280 Main St., Woburn, MA at 10 A.M. Interment to follow in Calvary Cemetery, Woburn. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to Calling hours on Thursday, November 2^nd from 4 – 7 p.m. in the Lynch- Cantillon Funeral Home 263 Main St., Woburn. In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Italian Home for Children, 1125 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.

Dolores “Dee” (Soave) Schafer – of Woburn, died peacefully, October 27^th, with her husband of 57 years, Richard E. “Dick” Schafer, by her side. She was seventy-eight years of age. 

In Dolores “Dee” Soave’s 1963 Woburn High School yearbook, she wrote that her biggest goal was to “be a bullfighter.” While she never quite attained that goal, she lived her life with a boldness and sense of adventure which would make any bullfighter jealous.

Dolores was born in 1945 in Woburn Massachusetts to her parents Adele and Guiseppe Soave and a large Italian family. For many of her many nieces and nephews, she was a strong link to the Italian cultural and food traditions she helped preserve. She was educated in Woburn schools, graduating from High School in 1963. She attended the Tewksbury School of Nursing and worked as a nurse for many years at Winchester Hospital.

After her retirement from nursing, she worked at Woburn City Hall, the Burlington Police Station, and for many years as a volunteer at Saint Charles Borromeo Parish in Woburn. Everyone who ever worked with her would remember her for her sense of decorating, her hospitality, and her kindness.

Anyone who knew Dolores Schafer knew she was always so much more than her work life. She was a great traveler who earlier in life traveled through Europe with her husband. She enjoyed cruises and casinos and always sought out a good adventure. She was a great artist and art lover and a phenomenal baker and cook. Her home was not only distinctively decorated, but it was also always ready to host family, friends, and neighbors. To her many nieces and nephews, she was a confidant, an escape, a co-conspirator, a tough-love advocate, and a second mother.

She is predeceased by her parents Adele and Giuseppe Soave and her siblings, Phillip Soave, Theresa (Torrice), and Joseph Soave. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Richard Schafer and many nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews, great-grand nieces and nephews, cousins, as well as the extended community of friends and neighbors for whom she always made room in her heart and in her home.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, November 3^rd in St. Charles Parish, 280 Main St., Woburn, MA at 10 A.M. Interment to follow in Calvary Cemetery, Woburn. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to Calling hours on Thursday, November 2^nd from 4 – 7 p.m. in the Lynch- Cantillon Funeral Home 263 Main St., Woburn. In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Italian Home for Children, 1125 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, November 3^rd in St. Charles Parish, 280 Main St., Woburn, MA at 10 A.M. Interment to follow in Calvary Cemetery, Woburn. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to Calling hours on Thursday, November 2^nd from 4 – 7 p.m. in the Lynch- Cantillon Funeral Home 263 Main St., Woburn. In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Italian Home for Children, 1125 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.