Dorothy Phelan

March 25, 1917 - April 29, 2014

Dorothy Phelan, 97, of Kansas City, MO, passed away Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at the Kansas City Hospice House. Graveside services will be 11:00am Friday, May 2, at Pine Lawn Memorial Park, Farmingdale, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the Dorothy Phelan Fund at Safe Home (www.safehome-ks.org). Dorothy was born in Bronx, NY, moved to Elmont, NY as a young adult and was raised in Brooklyn, NY. She met her future husband, John Phelan, at a USO dance in 1941, married in 1944 and was married for 34 years until John’s death in 1977. Dorothy was an Executive Assistant to the Nassau County Executive (NY) for more than 15 years until her retirement in 1978. She was president of the Nassau County Republican Club. She moved to Sun City, AZ in 1978 where she lived until shortly before her death, when she moved to Kansas City, MO to be near her family, especially her great-grandchildren. She was very proud and insistent that she lived independently until she was hospitalized one week prior to her death. Dorothy painted, was a weaver, loved to knit and crochet, was a potter, avid reader and a regular bridge player. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jacob and Sarah (Krinsky) Widelok; her husband, John Phelan, in 1977 and a sister, Irene Rubin. Dorothy is survived by her daughter and son-in-law: Jean and Joe Bookasta, Lee’s Summit, MO; grandchildren: Sara Sullivan and Brian Motl; Leah and Rob Swindle and her great-grandchildren: Grayson Swindle and Max Swindle. Also surviving is her nephew, Steve Rubin and his wife Eileen of Manhattan, NY; nieces, Shelly Newman and her husband Warren of Long Island, NY and Andrea Rubin of San Francisco, CA.