Dolores (Manning) Greene

           Dolores J. Greene, the beloved matriarch of a large and extended family, died peacefully at home surrounded by her husband and children on April 6, 2024, at age ninety-two.

             She was born on January 14, 1932, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Stanley Manning and Nora (Dowd) Manning.  Dolores moved to Worcester, Massachusetts at the age of eight, back to a city where she had deep roots. With the exception of two stints when she followed her husband to Miami, Florida and then to Vermont for college presidencies, she has always called Worcester home.  Along with her husband of sixty-seven years, Dr. Richard E. Greene, she raised seven children and had fourteen grandchildren.

            Dolores was educated at Worcester Public Schools and Worcester State University, which she graduated from in 1955. A child of the depression, she was a first-generation college student, and a woman of uncommon elegance who would later travel throughout Europe and East Asia, with Ireland being her favorite place.  In her role as first lady of St. Thomas University, she was beloved by faculty, staff, and students, and it was in this capacity that she and her husband were presented to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip on the Royal Yacht Britannica when they visited Miami, Florida in 1991. 

            In 1957, Dolores started her career as a kindergarten teacher. In 1958, she became a full-time mother, having seven children over the course of 11 years. Raising children was her life’s work. In partnership with her husband, who was earning both his master’s and doctorate while teaching college history, she filled her home with books, light and laughter. She had a rule that there was no bedtime if you were reading, and after you went to bed, you were allowed to come downstairs only if you had finished a book and wanted to talk about it. She was a wonderful cook who every single day prepared dinner for nine and would ring a bell out the window of her Worcester home, its sound echoing through the neighborhood signaling that dinner was ready. In the late 1970s, having become certified in adult education through graduate studies at Boston University, Dolores returned to work teaching adults.

            Her greatest joy, though, came from her family. She especially loved nurturing their artistic pursuits. She loved food and cooking; lunch with friends; clothes; throwing parties; holidays; and playing her antique Steinway Baby Grand at night, a gift from her husband on her 70^th birthday. She loved her grandchildren and marveled, given her humble beginnings, how much they were citizens of the world, without ever wanting credit for her significant role in supporting them in those opportunities. She was a remarkable woman whose grace will be remembered by all whom she loved and supported.

            In addition to the love of her life, her husband, Dr. Richard Greene, Dolores is survived by her son, Stephen and his wife, Kathleen of Amston, CT; her daughter Kathryn and her husband, Thomas, of North Andover, Ma; her daughter, Maura, of Newburyport, Ma.; her son, Richard Jr., and his wife, Susan of Shrewsbury, Ma.; her son, David and his wife, Carolyn of Waterville, Maine; her son, Thomas of Montpelier, Vermont; and her son, Daniel, of New Haven, CT.

            She is also survived by her grandchildren: Owen Greene; Molly Kacerosky and her husband Daniel,  Anna, and Charles Jodka; Emily and Natalie Mills; Julia and Lucia Greene; Madeline, Nora and Declan Greene; and Sarah Greene.

            She is predeceased by her parents, Stanley and Nora, her siblings Robert and Helene, and her grandchildren, Sean Greene and Jane Greene.

              A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30am on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at Assumption University Chapel, 500 Salisbury St, Worcester, followed by a private burial at St. John’s Cemetery. Mercadante Funeral Home is honored to assist the family with arrangements. Dolores’ family would like to express their profound gratitude to the Jewish Healthcare Center, Dina, hospice RN from JHC, Lori CNA from JHC and Linda her home health care aide for their kind and compassionate care.

            In lieu of flowers, her family requests donations be made in her memory to:

The Dr. Richard E. and Dolores J. Greene Human Rights Scholarship at Worcester State University, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester, Ma 01602; or to The Worcester Public Library Foundation, 3 Salem Street, Worcester, Ma 01608.