Dolores A. Efthim

Dolores A. (Pereira) Efthim, age 93, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 28, 2024 at the Ellis Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Norwood, Massachusetts, with her husband, Nick, and daughter, Carole, by her side.

Born May 5, 1931, in Boston, the daughter of Manuel and Mary (Boggia) Pereira, Dolores Alma was named for her grandmother in Cuba. She couldn’t stand the American pronunciation “Al-mah” but loved the Spanish pronunciation “Ahl-ma” which means “soul” since Spanish was her first language. She and her parents lived in Boston for 4 months then moved to Cuba for 9 years where her only sibling, Carole, was born. Upon returning to the USA, their family lived in Cambridge before settling in Watertown. She graduated from Watertown High and entered Northeastern University in the co-op program which she forever praised because it was the only way that college would have been financially possible. It was there that she would meet her future husband, Nicholas Efthim. Their plan was to marry in 1954, however due to a customary mourning period due to the tragic loss of Nick’s sister Dora at age 28, the wedding was delayed to 1955. 

Their first apartment was in Norwood, MA where Nick was the assistant administrator at Norwood Hospital and Dolores took the train to Mass General Hospital where she was a medical secretary and where she remained working until 1957 when she was admitted to Norwood Hospital and while her husband was in his office on the first floor, she had their daughter on the second floor. The new parents decided to name her Victoria but after a couple of days of getting to know her, Dolores decided that their baby’s personality was not “serious enough for the name Victoria” so she honored her sister and Nick had to go to Town Hall in Norwood to change the birth certificate.

Career moves for Nick brought the family from Norwood to Framingham to Springfield to eventually Walpole. Dolores was a stay-at-home mom, although a very active, daily volunteer for the Hispanic community in Springfield. In Walpole she began substitute teaching then applied to be the only Spanish teacher at East Junior High and was accepted. Thus began a 37-year teaching career. 

She made wonderful friends through teaching and when she retired in 1986 after 20 years in Walpole there was a party, but little did anyone know it would only be the first retirement party out of an eventual total of three. She came out of retirement in 1990 and worked 1 year at King Phillip, and 3 years at Holliston High School after which came retirement part two. In 1999 Walpole High called asking her to teach part time, which she accepted and stayed 3 years. In 2003 she received a call from Dover Sherborn High School where she taught for 8 years. This prompted her famous quote, “It’s time to hang up the chalk”. She was 80 and she had taught for 37 years. Teaching was so much a part of her, through dementia she remained convinced she was still teaching.

In Walpole she was active in the community, serving on the School Committee, teaching CCD at Blessed Sacrament where she was also in the choir for many years beautifully blending her alto voice with her sister’s soprano. She was on the Council on Aging for close to 30 years, served as Chairperson, and her family takes pride having her name is on the plaque at the Senior Center on South Street as she was part of the Building Committee. We remain grateful to Bill and Mavis Efthim for their contribution of the commemorative bricks in her honor in the outdoor space at the Senior Center. She started the needlework group at the Senior Center and was very proud of their accomplishments, donating over a hundred items every December to the VA Hospital in West Roxbury. She loved being part of change and being with people who could help affect change and enjoyed working with both Courtney Riley and Kerri McManama who were both Directors and who were colleagues to her. She learned the phrase “I got your back” from them both.

Dolores and Nick were great dancers and enjoyed dancing and dining with “The Group” aka “The Gang” that included Jim & Ellen Delaney, Henry & Marion Pare, Woody and Anita Sullivan and Fred and Virginia Grosso. The ladies would say let’s get “dolled up” and they would by wearing long dresses and the men wore suits and ties to go out even if it was St. Mary’s Hall. 

Jim and Ellen, hosting the 3rd of July fireworks parties were a highlight of the year for Nick, Dolores and way too many others to name. Nothing compared to the deck view from 48 Common Street.

Dolores enjoyed cooking and baking, preferably for a crowd. No one was allowed to simply visit and just have a beverage. She cooked Spanish and Italian foods (her mom was Italian and a tremendous cook) but she also learned to make Albanian recipes with her mother-in-law which was no small feat given a considerable language barrier.

Dolores and Nick had three homes in Walpole, Hutchinson Road, Pine Hill Drive and Peach Street before buying an apartment at New Pond Village. Carole wants to express her gratitude for the entire staff who looked after her parents as they became more fragile, most notably Mary Dugdale who is deeply missed after her tragic illnesses and passing. 

Dolores certainly will be remembered for expressing herself in a colorful yet never profane manner with expressions that didn’t translate well from Spanish to English . Oftentimes, she would invent a saying (or “dicho” as it’s known in Spanish) which some people might consider a real thing. “Wrongola” was her response to a student who didn’t provide the correct answer and “poongy” was the desired softness of bread for reasons known only to Dolores. When Carole is with Walpole alumni there’s always a Mrs. Efthim story and she’s always grateful the stories are always more positive than negative. As Carole made her mother’s arrangements, Jim Delaney shared a hilarious story she had never heard.

Dolores was certainly devoted to her parents, especially when they moved to East Walpole in the 1970’s and lived with her sister on Woodland Road. Her dad (who didn’t “believe in doctors”) passed at age 78 but her mom lived to be 102. Her only sibling, Carole, passed from scleroderma at 75 and she missed her terribly as they were 16 months apart. 

Her sister Carole passed two years before their mom but with their mom having dementia, she was never told she had lost a daughter.

Beloved wife of Nicholas Efthim.

Loving mother of Carole J. O’Rourke and her husband, Michael, of Medway.

Cherished Mimi of Nick O'Rourke and his wife, Heather, of Andover, New Hampshire and Jill Perkins, and her husband, Max, of Medway; and great grandmother of Theo P. Michael Perkins.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Dolores’ Life Celebration on Sunday, November 3, 2024, from 1 to 3 pm in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole. Interment will take place privately at Saint Francis Cemetery in Walpole.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Dolores Pereira Efthim Memorial Scholarship, c/o Walpole High School, 275 Common Street, Walpole, MA 02081, Attn: Deb Wolfe.