Dolores G. Lavelle

Dolores G. Lavelle, RN of Clarks Green, died peacefully Tuesday evening at her home surrounded by her loving family, of pancreatic cancer. She was the widow of the late James P. Lavelle MD.

Born in Minersville, PA, she was the daughter of the late Max E. and Emma Dellago Gabardi. She was a graduate of Minersville High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society. She continued her education at Abington Memorial Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1944. Upon graduation she worked as pediatric head nurse at Abington Memorial Hospital and circulating supervisor at Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, where she met her future husband, James P. Lavelle MD. From the time of her marriage in 1949 until Dr. Lavelle's death in 1982, she worked side by side with her husband in their pediatric practice, first in Scranton, then in Clarks Green. From 1983 until 1996 she worked as pediatric nurse in the offices of Thomas Zukoski MD and Dennis Dawgert MD. She was a member of the Church of St. Gregory, Clarks Green.

Popular with her young patients for her straightforward sense of humor and with their parents for her calm and steady wisdom, Dolores was unforgettable. Her legacy is the lasting impression she left on people who met her; wherever she went people stopped to throw their arms around her, proclaiming how she influenced their lives for the better. She will be greatly missed by those whose good fortune it was to have known her.

Surviving are her children, Patricia J. Lavelle, Jane M. Lavelle MD and husband Drew Costarino MD, Mark D. Lavelle of Philadelphia, Mary L. Spear and husband Michael Spear MD, Landenberg, PA, Michael J. Lavelle, New York City, David J. Lavelle, San Diego, CA and Thomas J. Lavelle and wife Elaine, Clarks Green; sister Georgene Kaster, Downingtown PA, brother Max Gabardi, Minersville PA; sisters- and brother-in-law Elinor Nuttall, Mickey Gabardi, James Van Etten; 16 grandchildren and four great grandchildren, with another on the way and a score of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by a son James P. Lavelle, Jr. MD, cardiologist at Georgetown University Hospital who died of AIDS in 1996; and sisters Helen, Viola and Isabel and their husbands, Sam, Vite and Hayes.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday at 10:30 am at the Church of St. Gregory, 330 N. Abington Rd., Clarks Green, PA, to be celebrated by Msgr. Joseph A. Quinn, with concelebrants Rev. John M. Lapera, pastor and Msgr. John H. Louis, pastor emeritus. All those attending are asked to go directly to the church. Interment will follow at Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton.

Friends may call on Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at the Lawrence E. Young Funeral Home, 418 S. State St., Clarks Summit, PA 18411.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Sacred Heart, 600 Baltimore Ave., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702.