Dorothy "Dolly" Piccone

My mom, who taught me the meaning of unconditional love, was reunited in Heaven with her beloved husband of 53 years, Daniel, whom she met on a blind date, and joins her wonderful parents Mary and Frank Wojciechowski and her loving brother Frank.

She was to me the best mom and my best friend. Always supportive of my activities from dance lessons and recitals to school plays and talent shows to watching me twirl a baton in parades, she encouraged me to graduate from college, stressing that it would enable me to succeed in any endeavor I chose. She also provided me with a strong religious faith because of her love of Catholicism.

She was a popular waitress, a job she loved, working first at the Crystal Restaurant, then with Sis Edward's Catering followed by The Abraham Lincoln Hotel, finally retiring in 1983 from Heidelberg Country Club. I loved to hear her stories about her great co-workers and favorite customers, many of whom would ask for her by name. Not recognizing him, she once asked Duke Ellington if he knew a favorite song of hers and asked him to play it for her while she was setting up the ballroom at the Abe as he practiced before his concert. He obliged.

She loved day trips, foreign travel, reading, shopping trips to Philly and Lancaster, decorating her beautiful home, going to the pool and the shore, but she and Dad were happiest spending as much time as they could with her niece Terri and her husband Dan, her grand-niece Stephanie and her grand-nephew Doug, who were the lights of their lives. Sewing beautiful dresses for Stephanie, as she had for me, playing games with Doug, taking walks with them in the great wagon handmade by their grandfather Ed Loomis and attending Stephanie's dance recitals and Doug's acrobat recitals were the best times of their retirement. They loved their Aunt Doll-Doll and Uncle Dan, as did everyone.

A few years ago, my mom realized she could no longer live alone after my father's passing and asked me to find her a place to live. I was blessed to find the beautiful Kutztown Manor, and she loved living there. Within days, the entire staff addressed us by name and teasingly called her Miss Hollywood because she always dressed well with careful attention to her hair and make-up and because of the stylish dark glasses she wore. She was safe there and was cared for as if she were family and she adored the attentive staff who treated her so well. I cannot thank them enough for how much they did for her and for all the other residents.

So I say good-bye to my fabulous mother, the love of my dad's life, and I remember all the fun we had, and her feisty spirit, and I cannot believe how lucky I am to have had such a great woman as a mother, friend and role model. This tribute has been submitted with much love.

Dolly is survived by her daughter Bonnie; her sister Eleanor Loomis; and her nieces Nancy, wife of Kurt Freiberger and their daughter Becca; Barbara MacRae and her children Laura and David and his children David and Brandon; and Terri, wife of Dan Cafoncelli and their children Stephanie and Douglass.

She is predeceased by her husband Dan, her brother Frank, and her nephews David and John.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday December 24, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. in St. Mary's R.C. Church, 250 South 12th Street, Reading, 19602. Friends may call from 9-9:30 a.m. at the church. Entombment will follow in Gethsemane Mausoleum. If you are not able to attend, please think of Dolly and say a prayer or remember her fondly on Saturday morning as we gather at her church.

Because of fragrance allergies, the family suggests that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent for Mass cards for Dolly and her husband Daniel to St. Mary's Church, 250 South 12th Street, Reading PA, 19602. Thank you. Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc. is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences can be recorded at www.kuhnfuneralhomes.com