Dolores Ann Wilson

Dolores Ann Wilson (age 89) Of Alexandria, Virginia passed away on April 4th, 2024. Dolores was born on October 9th, 1934 in Portage, Pennsylvania to Vasil Charles Bulinsky and Maria Anna Bulinsky (formerly Maria Anna Waxmonsky). She was the 9th child born of 12 children in all, 5 boys and 7 girls. She had 4 older brothers Joseph, John, Frank and Peter and one younger brother Robert as well as 4 older sisters Mary, Kathryn, Helen and Stella and two younger sisters Barbara and Frances. As a child, she was given the nickname “Tootsie” because of her love for candy, particularly tootsie rolls. She was an avid “tom boy” and loved to fish, hunt and shoot a bow and arrow. Dolores loved school and graduated class Salutatorian from Lilly High School in 1952. Soon after graduation she moved to the Washington D.C area where she shared an apartment with sisters Kay (Kathryn), Helen and Stella in NW Washington. Dolores worked for C & P Telephone as an operator and played softball on the company team. She enjoyed going to movies and reading novels, especially mysteries. She took ball room dance lessons and subsequently would meet her future husband, John E. Wilson, at a dance in Washington D.C. several years before their eventual marriage in May of 1963 at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington D.C. They bought a house in the Groveton area of Fairfax County that same year where they would raise a family and grow old together. In the mid 1960’s, Dolores quit her job at C & P to concentrate on raising a family. She and John had two children, David born 1966 and Linda born 1968. Dolores’s two passions were dancing and gardening. Over the years, she preferred to spend her days in her garden tending to her many flowers, rose bushes, fruit trees and vegetables. Dolores and John were avid dancers, members of the Friday Nighters Dance Club and the Elks where they would routinely attend several dances weekly. Dolores was very physically active into her 80’s and enjoyed swimming and going for long walks. In her later years, Dolores could often be found on the couch with her two cats, reading a murder mystery novel and nursing a cup of tea. Dolores was a devout Catholic and long-time member of the St. Louis parish. In February of 2022, Dolores fell in the middle of the night and fractured her hip. Soon after surgery she started to develop signs of Alzheimer’s, a possible side effect of the anesthesia according to her doctor. She underwent several weeks of rehabilitation but was unable to walk without assistance. In April of that year, she entered residence at the Reminiscence care unit at The Fairfax at Belvoir Woods. She thrived in that community and was quite happy, enjoying many activities there, especially gardening, flower arranging and bingo as well as the many bus excursions. Dolores started to decline in October of 2023 and by February of 2024 started having issues eating and swallowing. By late March she could no longer eat or drink, an eventuality of Alzheimer’s. Dolores passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours of April 4th, 2024, at age 89. Dolores was survived by her daughter Linda Wilson Wong, her son David Michael Wilson, sister Frances M. Clapper, grandchildren Colin N. Wong and Gillian A. Wong, and many nieces and nephews. Dolores was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years John E. Wilson, brothers Joseph Bulinsky, John Bulinsky, Frank Bulinsky, Peter P. Bulinsky and Robert C. Bulinsky. Also, sisters Stella Bulinsky, Helen Redman, Kathryn B. Cave, Mary Bulinsky and Barbara J. Carter. The family will be having a private viewing on April 11th, 2024. Interment will be at 12:00 noon on Friday April 12th, at Mt. Comfort Cemetery in Alexandria, VA., following a brief grave site ceremony. Messages and memories can be shared on Dolores’s memorial page. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

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Dolores Ann Wilson

October 9, 1934 - April 4, 2024