Dorothy (Lang) Halunen, 89, of Plymouth, passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 17, 2012, at home surrounded by family and loved ones.
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Budie, as many family members affectionately called her, was the oldest of four children. She graduated from Chatham High School in Chatham, New York and later moved to Carver, Massachusetts where she remained a resident and member of the United Parish for over fifty years. While enjoying fifty-six years of marriage with her late husband, Ted, Dorothy was an appointed deputy sheriff for twelve years with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department and was also a bus driver and teacher’s aide for the Carver Public School System. Dot was a gifted, self-taught, oil painter and had a great love for music. She was an avid Boston Red Sox fan and hardly ever missed watching a game. It was her love of baseball that led to her to be one of the first women in Massachusetts to manage a Little League baseball team. She adored her children and grandchildren an often enjoyed doing jig-saw puzzles and playing board games with them, in particular, Scrabble, which she rarely lost. She is a long time member of the United Parish of Carver.
Dorothy is survived by her children, Ted Halunen and his wife Jackie, of Florida, John Halunen and his wife Diane, of Maine, Debora Soule of Texas and Donna Forand and her husband Jim, of Plymouth, her grandchildren, Marissa Halunen and her significant other Peter, Duane Halunen, Jaimee Halunen and his wife Jamie, Danielle Kreuser and her husband Brent, Daniel Forand and his fiancée Kerry, Krista-Jean Forand and Rachel Halunen, a brother, John Lang of Florida along with six great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She is preceded in death by her loving husband, Theodore Halunen, her sister, Eunice Rosario, and her brother, Walter Lang.
Visiting hours will be at the Shepherd Funeral Home, 116 Main Street, (Route 58), Carver, on Tuesday, November 20, from 3:00-7:00 PM.
Her funeral will be held at the United Parish of Carver, 115 Main Street, (Route 58), Carver, on Wednesday, November 21 at 10:00 AM.
Donations may be made in Dorothy’s name to Old Colony Elder Services, 144 Main Street, Brockton, MA 02301 or to the United Parish Carver, MA.