Adele O. Duprey
January 21, 1923 – June 21, 2011
Adele O. Duprey (Kolesar) died peacefully at her home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, on June 21, 2011, in the loving care of her family.
Adele was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on January 21, 1923 Her parents, John Paul Kolesar and Anna Pinka, were both immigrants from what is now the Slovak Republic, and Adele spoke Slovak as well as English in her early years.
During the Depression the family left Allentown to settle near relatives in Yonkers, N.Y., where they made a home on Cook Avenue as the family grew and the children grew up. Adele was the eldest of five children, a role that she embraced throughout her life, caring for and staying in touch with her brothers and sister.
Adele left high school early and went to work with her mother in a local rug factory. In 1943 she volunteered for service in the Navy by joining the WAVES. She always treasured the friendships, skills, and independence that she discovered during that period of her life. It was near the end of her service, at a dance in Bridgeport, Connecticut where the Tommy Dorsey Band was playing, that Adele met her husband, Louis Duprey. They married in September, 1945 in Yonkers, at the church Adele had attended for many years.
Adele excelled as a mother, as she raised three children and sometimes worked two jobs to provide for them. The family moved frequently around the northeast, at one time living in Montreal for four years. Through those changes, including her husband’s early death in 1966, Adele was the mainstay of the family, devoted to her children.
After she retired Adele spent many years in Marshfield, Massachusetts, helping her daughter, Cynthia, to raise three grandchildren. She worked part time at the town library, was active at the Senior Center and her church, and developed many wonderful friendships.
In 1995 Adele moved to Bainbridge Island, WA, to be near her son, Donald, and his family. When her daughter Kathy later moved to the island, Adele was able to be part of all her grandchildren’s lives. She volunteered at the Bainbridge Public Library for several years. Her favorite place to spend time was the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center, where she made many friends, enjoyed trips, learned tai-chi, marched in the Fourth of July parade, and was a member of the Evergreen Singers.
Adele was an avid and skilled knitter, and outfitted her family many times over with sweaters, scarves, gloves, hats and socks. She baked a famous lemon meringue pie and holiday cookies from recipes passed down to her, which she in turn passed to her grandchildren. She loved to read, to sing, and to travel, and was able in her retirement to visit Alaska, Hawaii, Austria, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and France.
Adele especially loved the times she had with her family. We will all miss her company and her unstinting love. She is survived and celebrated by her children, Don Duprey (and his wife, Rita Belserene), Cynthia Baxter (and her husband Francis Baxter), and Kathy Duprey; her grandchildren – Jeffrey Baxter, Elizabeth Grindle, Kate Bernard, Laurel Rohwer, Bethany Ford, Josh Ford, and Joseph Duprey, and seven great-grandchildren; by her brothers, John Kolesar and Daniel Kolesar (and his wife Lois Kolesar), and her sister, Virginia Moynihan; and by five nieces, seven nephews and their families.
A memorial service will be held at the Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, Friday, July 8, followed by a celebration of her life at the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center. In remembrance of Adele, her family requests that donations be made to Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center or to Hospice of Kitsap County. Sign the online Guest Book at: www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.
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