Dolores Gonzales

Dolores was born June 4, 1940, in Effingham, Illinois to Richard & Agnes Wolters. At the age of six she lost her hearing due to spinal meningitis. She attended St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf (“SJID”) through eighth grade where she learned both Latin and how to read lips. She graduated from St. Anthony’s High School in Effingham, with her original class in 1958. In 1962, she earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree from Fontbonne College (“Fontbonne”), in Clayton, Missouri.

After college, she worked in St. Louis, Missouri, before moving to Washington D.C. to attend Gallaudet University. There she earned her Master’s degree in Deaf Education and learned sign language. She later earned a second Master’s degree in Educational Administration.

Dolores began her teaching career at the New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD), thinking that she would return to the midwest when a position opened up there. St. Joseph, her patron saint, had other plans for her when she met her beloved husband, Ricardo Gonzales. In 1968 the family moved to Riverside, California where she focused on raising their four children and was an occasional substitute teacher at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside. Santa Fe was always in their hearts, and in 1978 the family moved back where she continued to be a substitute teacher at NMSD and eventually returned to full time teaching once her youngest child began grade school. Dolores then served as an assistant principal at NMSD before retiring in 1998. She spent her retirement helping to nurture and raise her grandchildren and often attended concerts and sporting events to cheer them on.

Dolores was a prolific writer, continually communicating back and forth with her family and friends from Effingham, SJID and Fontbonne. She also used her writing skills to write and edit newsletters as a member of various groups for the deaf. She loved to sew, a skill she learned from her mother. She made many of her own clothes, Halloween costumes, and wedding dresses for her three daughters. Dolores loved making quilts for friends and family, joining friends in the deaf community in forming a small quilting group, The Fabric Floozies, where they would meet monthly socializing and sharing quilting projects and ideas.

Above all, family and faith were the most important things to Dolores, and she enjoyed spending time with both her children and grandchildren.

Dolores was preceded in death by her loving husband, Ricardo Gonzales, whom she was married to for 58 years. She leaves behind four children, whom she loved deeply and supported unconditionally: Christina Romero (Bryan); Anna Gonzales Ferraro (Robert), Susanna Gonzales Rogers (Patrick); David Gonzales (Melissa); and by her brother Tom Wolters (Ann). She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Sabrina Ferraro, Elena Romero, Justin Ferraro, Mark Romero, Brendan Ferraro, Eli Gonzales, and Eva Gonzales. Dolores leaves behind beloved in-laws and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by three of her siblings: Arlene Pals, Robert Wolters, and Jim Wolters, as well as brothers-in-law James Gonzales, Albert Correa, and Manuel Aragon; and sisters-in-law Tina Sanchez, Patricia Aragon, and Epiphania (“Fanny”) Correa.

In-lieu of flowers, donations can be made to https://www.campmark7.org/donate or to https://www.thememorycarealliance.org/donationsandpayments

Services will be held at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Santa Fe, NM on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Visitation/Rosary will begin at 9:00 a.m. and a mass will be held afterwards at 10:00 a.m.