Sister Dolores Becker, BVM
Sister Dolores Becker, BVM, 83, of Mount Carmel Bluffs, 1160 Carmel Dr., Dubuque, Iowa, died Friday, Oct. 21, 2022.
Visitation, the Sharing of Memories, and Mass of Christian Burial were on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. Burial was in the Mount Carmel cemetery.
Sister Dolores was born Aug. 30, 1939, in San Francisco to George and Dolores (Banker) Becker. She entered the BVM congregation Aug. 2, 1957, from Most Holy Redeemer Parish, San Francisco. She professed first vows on Feb. 3, 1960, and final vows on July 16, 1965.
Sister Dolores served as an elementary teacher at St. Tarcissus in Chicago; Seattle; Tigard, Ore.; and Portland, Ore. She served as director of religious education in Butte, Mont.; San Jose, Calif.; and Lodi, Calif. She ministered as a pastoral associate in Norridge, Ill.; Hampton, Va.; and Fresno Calif. She codirected a Christian life center in Manchester, N.H., supervised a home for people with AIDS in West Hempstead, N.Y., and served as a licensed practical nurse in West Liberty, N.Y., and Amityville, N.Y.
Dolores was an honest, generous, caring, loving woman of deep faith. Her greatest gift was relating and reaching out to people. She assumed great responsibility for her work, preparing for every mission with tremendous passion and attention to detail. She was persistent, industrious, and, as to her personal motivation, one of her mentors said, ‘If it were any higher, she would need an oxygen mask.’” (Eulogy).
She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother Bill Becker, and a brother-in-law Gordon Porter. She is survived by a sister Nancy Porter, San Francisco; two nephews; and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 65 years.
Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003 or online at https://www.bvmsisters.org/support_donate.cfm.
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My family met Sr. Dolores when one of our daughters was in her fourth-grade class in Seattle, WA. That daughter is now 64 years old. We became friends and stayed in touch with her over the years. Yes, we have known Dolores for quite a few years and always treasured her friendship. May she rest in peace.
Dolores was one of our set of 1957. From the postulate to our set reunions, she was always welcoming, generous with offers to help, and just being herself in a myriad of ways. I remember how hard she worked to make contacts with members of our set for our reunions. And how disappointed she was when she couldn’t locate someone. She loved being a BVM. At the same time, she never forgot, we who left, always making us feel we still are a part of the BVM family. For Dolores, we were all, to our core BVM’s forever. Thank you, Dolores. Rest in peace.
Mary Eileen Sorenson