Dorothy Marie Walters DeGrace

Dorothy Marie Walters DeGrace

10 December 1923 – 24 July 2025

Dotte was many things to her family and friends, but mostly she was Dotte, Mom, Nana, Great Nana and the DeGrace family’s matriarch. She left this world to begin a new adventure in the eternities. We honor her. We love her. We dearly miss her. Dotte lived on this earth for 101 years, 7 months, and 14 days before she was called home again. She passed through the Veil quietly and without pain, with her youngest daughter Susie holding her hand, keeping vigil by her side.

Dotte has always lived in Gardner. It’s the only home she has ever known. She grew up in this small city, attended school here, fell in love with her high school sweetheart here, and this is where she married him on the 7th of August 1943, soon after he returned from his tour of duty with the 10th Mountain Division (ski troops) of the US Army. Dotte and Lorenzo “Larry” DeGrace worked long and hard together to build their family home on Temple Street and that’s where they raised their four children. Phyllis Marie and Jon Charles (both now deceased) and Susanne Margaret and Gerald Paul.

Their home was filled with smiles, friends, good food, plants and flowers everywhere, laughter, music, chaos, canaries, dogs and cats, and lots of hugs and tears. It was a home full of the very best kind of love.

She was a woman who could do anything. She was a writer of prose and poetry. She could paint and draw and created many exquisite needlecraft projects. She sewed clothes for herself and her children. She loved to dance and sing - and her cooking and baking could put a professional to shame. She loved nature, planted and nurtured several flower and vegetable gardens, and she learned the art of photography from Larry. Dotte was affectionately known to her family as “Natural Nana” because of her commitment to eating a healthy diet. That is probably why she lived such a long life, suffering from no illnesses (except blindness) until the day she slipped away. When their children grew up and left home, Dotte would take off with her sweetheart on “road trips”, mostly around New England, taking photos of anything that caught their interest. Dotte also traveled to Hawaii, Jamaica, Iceland, Bermuda, Canada and Europe. As proof of these adventures, the family has inherited over 7,000 slides and photographs of their adventures.

This remarkable woman was known for her compassion. There are many ways to describe her – strong, capable, kind, helpful, forgiving and understanding. Dotte had a compassionate and caring nature. She became a comforting safe haven to many family members and friends when life became difficult. Dotte always relied on her faith to see herself and her loved ones through any problems they faced. She believed in God. She believed in her Savior. And she believed in eternal life. She was a faithful Catholic and a devoted member of the Sacred Heart Parish in Gardner. She taught Sunday School and Religious Education. She was a member of the Catholic Women’s Club and was constantly volunteering for special events. Dotte believed in the power of prayer and she prayed daily. She knew she was a Child of God. Her faith was one of her most beautiful blessings. She inspired many whose lives she touched.

Dotte leaves behind two of her four children, nine grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren, and an extended family of nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, plus many close family friends.

She was predeceased by her parents, Charles and Ernestine (Repp) Walters, and her siblings Martha (Walters) Katsouris and William Walters, all of Gardner. She also leaves behind paternal relatives in Germany – Karin and Sabine Badstubner and dear friend Hermann) with whom she visited many years ago. Dotte was – and is – a perfect example of a woman who knew how to love and how to be loved.

She was the true essence of what a lady should be. And she will always remain in the hearts of those who were blessed to have been touched by her sweet spirit. In her final days, the loving care of professionals from Care Central in Gardner (Hospice), the French Connection, and Aging Services of North Central Massachusetts tended to Dotte for many of her daily needs. These women were truly angels sent to care for her in the last seven months of her life. Dotte’s family would like to acknowledge how wonderful these loving caregivers treated her, always with tender concern, great dignity, and much love. Donations in Dotte’s name can be sent to these deserving organizations, or to the CAC on Pleasant Street in Gardner, a favorite charity of the DeGrace family.

At Dotte’s request, there will be no calling hours at the Mack Family Funeral Home, but friends and family are invited to gather to remember her extraordinary life with an 11AM funeral Mass at Holy Spirit Church (Annunciation parish), Lovewell Street in South Gardner on Saturday, August 23, 2025. Interment will immediately follow the memorial Mass, with all present invited to gather one more time in Dotte’s home.