Dolores E. (Hughet) Raymond passed away peacefully in her sleep Jan. 10 at Vermont Hills Acute Care.

Dolores was born Oct. 19, 1933, in Burns. Dolores spent part of her early years in The Narrows outside of Burns on her Uncle Louis’s ranch. The years she spent on the ranch shaped the person she became. When her family moved into the city of Burns, Dolores, who was still a country girl at heart, raised a 4-H calf that won Grand Champion at the Harney County Fair and received Top Honors at the state fair.

Dolores married Art Raymond in July of 1951. They had four children: Steve (predeceased, 2010), Scott, Chris (Lynn), and Judy (Kevin). Dolores also had six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.

While living in Burns, Dolores began working for the district attorney of Harney County. After that, she spent 20 years in the insurance industry. In 1980, she divorced Art and followed her four children to the Portland area. Dolores continued to work in insurance while obtaining a certificate in gerontology in 1987. After that, she received a bachelor of arts from Marylhurst University in 1988. In 1985, Dolores opened her first Senior Care Foster Home, which was among one of the first to open in Washington County. From the time she opened the foster home until she retired in 2002, all of her work revolved around senior issues. She sat on the board for the Governor’s Commission on Aging for three terms and wrote a bi-monthly column (Senior Focus) for the Hillsboro Argus.

It is impossible to reduce someone’s life down to a few meager lines in a newspaper. We are going to try anyway:

Dear Mom,

This is our final farewell letter to you. All of the things that we loved and cherished most about you are living on through your children and grandchildren, and hopefully that one great-great-grandchild of yours. Your incredible love and passion for music of all kinds created generations of musicians and music lovers in our family. The Beaverton Library was like your second home. You would read just about anything that was put in front of you, and your house was a mini-library. In your later years, you could often be found with a grandchild on your lap, sharing your love of reading. You taught all four of your children how to cook, and cook well. Your insatiable sweet tooth lives on through all of your children, and, unfortunately, it has also been passed on to your grandchildren (except for the fruitcake, Mom. We’re glad there will be no more of that).

Mom, we will always remember you for your kindness and compassion. Your open-minded and curious nature, your belief in and respect of  our privacy, and your love of all people are things we will always cherish. You taught us to be our own person and to not follow anyone else’s lead. Your willingness to stand up and fight for what you felt strongly about is also alive and well. Rest assured, that stubborn streak of yours that made itself apparent right until the end, lives on in all of us.

A special thanks to everyone at Vermont Hills for being there with your understanding and empathy, and making a really difficult situation a little bit better. Thank you to New Seasons Hospice as well.

No memorial service is planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Elsie Stuhr Center in Beaverton.