Dorothy A. Nemitz, 81, died peacefully Tuesday June 24 at Mary Ann Morse Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Natick after a long illness.
She was born Dec. 28, 1926, in Boston, the daughter of Michael J. and Mary M. (Thorne) O’Brien.
She attended schools in Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain, where she considered the Arnold Arboretum her very own front yard. She graduated from Regis College in 1948.
She married William C. Nemitz, her loving husband of 57 years on Oct. 2, 1948. Together they raised eight children in Needham, where she was a devoted communicant and organist at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
She joyfully shared her musical talents over the years with her family along with residents of Hamilton House in Needham and St. Matthew’s School in Dorchester.
In their later years, she and her husband made their home in Wellesley, where they were communicants and members of the choir at St. Paul Catholic Church. Together they traveled to China, Costa Rica and Europe.
She loved the ocean, spending countless summer days at Powder Point Beach in Duxbury with her children and grandchildren, whom she called “my little darlings.”
She was predeceased by her husband, two daughters, Elizabeth M Nemitz and Ann M. Nemitz, M.D., and a sister, Mary O’Brien.
She is survived by four sons, Michael J. Nemitz of Winchester, Va., William K. Nemitz of Buxton, Maine, Charles T. Nemitz of Natick and Christopher J. Nemitz of Cambridge; two daughters, Maripeg Combs of Winchester, Va., and Margaret A. Nemitz of Marlborough; a brother, The Hon. John J. O’Brien of Milton; 15 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, a goddaughter, Pamela Smith of Westwood, and several nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday at 9 a.m. at St. Paul Catholic Church, 502 Washington St., in Wellesley. There will be no visiting hours.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 36 Cameron Ave., Cambridge, Mass., 02140.
Arrangements are by the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home in Wellesley.