Dolores Marie Bunker

Dolores Marie Bunker passed away peacefully on October 15, 2020. She was born in Denver, CO, on September 18, 1925, to Carl and Loretta Jensen. She graduated from North Denver High School in 1943. She met her future husband, Eugene Bunker, at a USO dance at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Denver. They were married on June 28, 1947 at St. Dominic's Church in Denver.       
     Dolores and Eugene were blessed with six children. After short periods in Denver, Milwaukee, Neenah, and Kansas City, they settled in De Pere in 1963 where Eugene was a librarian at St. Norbert College. Family lore includes a story of how they were able to obtain their cherished Green Bay Packer season tickets that year, possibly as the direct result of an “assist” from Coach Vince Lombardi. Dolores was very proud to be a Packer shareholder.      
     Dolores was a devout Catholic, and her faith informed every aspect of her life. She belonged to Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Making Club and made “hundreds if not thousands” of rosaries that were sent to people around the world. Dolores liked to tell the family story of how her maternal grandmother was converted to Catholicism by Father Joseph Machebeuf, who was sent to Colorado by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy from New Mexico. These were the priests written about by Willa Cather in her celebrated novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop. In De Pere Dolores was an active member of St. Francis Xavier Parish, where she served as a lector and was a longtime member of the Altar Rosary Society. She became a Norbertine Associate in 2000. She and Eugene sponsored several children in Central America and Africa through Unbound.    
     Dolores was very active in community affairs. She volunteered for many years with FISH (Friends in Service Helping) as both a driver and a telephoner. She was a troop leader for the Girl Scouts. She sang in church choirs throughout her life, and had a beautiful soprano voice. She also played the piano and was well known for her memorized renditions of the Black Hawk Waltz and Beautiful Ohio.      After many years as a wife, mother, and homemaker, Dolores began attending St. Norbert College and graduated magna cum laude in 1980 with a B.A. in English. She joined all six of her children as proud graduates of St. Norbert College. She went on to gain accreditation to teach Latin and taught Latin at West De Pere High School for eight years.    
     Dolores enjoyed games and was quite competitive. In addition to cribbage, Scrabble, and Rummikub, she was a skilled duplicate bridge player. She was in several bridge clubs, and also played at the De Pere Senior Center. She was a lifelong gardener, and volunteered with the Green Bay Botanical Garden. She became a Master Gardener and Rosarian. Roses were her favorite flower. She also grew fruits and vegetables. Her children loved her raspberry jam and the rhubarb cakes and pies she baked. She also baked delicious whole wheat sour dough bread and kept her sour dough starter alive for decades, sharing it with many friends and relatives along the way. She welcomed all into her home and garden.     
     She and Eugene bought land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where they enjoyed camping, eventually building a cabin. Her favorite activities there were walking amidst the fall colors, canoeing, and sitting in the sun on the dock. She also enjoyed travel and was fortunate to go all over the U.S. as well as to Mexico, Central America, Bermuda, Canada, and Europe. She loved returning to visit family in her home state of Colorado, especially in the fall to see the golden aspens in the Rockies. She instilled a deep love for the beauty of nature in all of her children. In later life she discovered a talent for watercolor painting, and would often send people her hand painted cards.      
     Dolores would regularly speak of her gratitude for her faith. One of her many favorite daily prayers was the after communion prayer: “May our children and grandchildren persevere with you oh God each day in their jobs and their studies and never give up hope.”    
     She is preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Loretta Jensen, brother Carl Jensen, and grandson Matthew Bunker, as well as in-laws Dewey and Ellie Bunker, Raymond Slupe, Jerry Brunetti, Cecelia Jensen, and Anthony Vogel.     
     She is survived by her loving husband, Eugene Bunker, sisters Dorothy Slupe and Carollou Brunetti, brother Tom Jensen, sisters-in-law Joyce Vogel and Margaret (Peg) Bunker, and children David (Alice) Bunker, Tom (Sally) Bunker, Sue O’Keefe, Greg (LaVon) Bunker, Joe (Carolyn) Bunker, and Jane (Joseph Sullivan) Bunker, grandchildren Erin, Jennifer, Tim, Mike, Kara, Amanda, Angela, Heather, Zachary, Tyler, Callie, Catherine, and great-grandchildren Chelsea, Sydney, Brendan, Garrett, Madeleine, Jasper, Silas, Amelia, Emmeline, Henry, Margaret, Skyler, Acelynn, and Tillie, as well as many nieces and nephews.     
     Please join us as we celebrate Dolores’ life on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at St. Francis Xavier Parish Center, 220 S. Michigan St., De Pere, from 11:30am to 2:30pm.    
     Family is grateful to the staff of St. Vincent Hospital and Unity Hospice for their loving care in Dolores’s last week of life. In lieu of flowers, family will be grateful for donations to the Green Bay Botanical Garden.