Dorothy C. Whalen

Waltham – Mrs. Dorothy C. (Poirier) Whalen, of West Newton, formerly of Waltham, died Wednesday, October 28, 2009 in her daughter’s home in Sudbury. She was 90. Dorothy was born in Braintree on September 24, 1919, a daughter of the late Paul and Catherine (Aucoin) Poirier. She was raised in Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, and moved to Waltham in her late teens. She worked at the Raytheon Company during World War II and was a sales person at Grover Cronin Department Store in Waltham for eighteen years. She was a member of both the Waltham and Watertown Senior Citizens Associations and enjoyed aquatic activities at Bentley College and line dancing with various groups. Dorothy especially enjoyed playing cards with her sisters and many friends. She was a former parishioner of Saint Joseph’s Church in Waltham. The wife of the late Francis J. Whalen, she leaves her children, Donna Wilson and her husband, Paul, of Kennesaw, Georgia, Joan Whelan and her husband, William, of Douglasville, Georgia, Marguerite ‘Peggy’ Marrano and her husband, Steve, of Wilmington, Dorothy DuBois and her husband, Arthur, of Sudbury, Michael Whalen and his wife, Linda, of Waltham, and John Whalen of Hudson; her grandchildren, Jennifer Beck, Christine Wilson, Jeffrey Whelan, Jennifer DuBois, Amy Carlo, Laura DuBois, Heather Hooper, Jessica Whalen, and Stephanie Whalen; her great grandchildren, Caden and Connor Wilson and Emma Carlo; her sisters, Evelyn Daniels and Genevieve Barton both of Framingham; her brother, Andrew Poirier of Canada; and many nieces, nephews, and friends. She was also a sister of the late Joseph Poirier, George Poirier, and Mary Fasulo. Family and friends will honor and remember Dorothy’s life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. on Monday morning before leaving in procession to Sacred Heart Church, 311 River Street, Waltham where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Mount Feake Cemetery, Waltham. Memorial donations may be made to VNA Care Network and Hospice, 5 Federal Street, Danvers, MA 01923.