Dolores "Dolly" Hanna

Dolly Hanna, 87, of Mason City passed away early Sunday morning, September 26, 2021, at home.

Per Dolly’s wishes, she has been cremated. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 23, 2021, at the First Presbyterian Church, 100 S. Pierce Ave., Mason City, IA, with Pastor Paul Collier officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Join us after for a light lunch in the Friendship Hall to celebrate and remember Dolly! Please come as you are or wear the colors of her beloved Buffalo Bills; Red, White and Blue!
Memorials may be directed to the family of Dolly Hanna which will then be disbursed to P.E.O. to create a scholarship in her name and for a deserving girl scout to attend Camp Tanglefoot!

Dolores Mildred Adams was born on Sept. 22, 1934, to Gerald and Lucille (Williams) Adams in Binghamton, NY. Dolly attended several grammar schools in Michigan and Illinois, while her engineer father helped convert factories for plane production in World War Two. She finally attended Port Dickinson NY grammar school where her mother taught, graduating from Binghamton North HS in 1952 and Buffalo State College in 1956 with a degree in Home Economics and as a member of Delta Sigma (Delta Zeta). While at Buffalo State in 1953, she went on a blind date set up by her class-mate Jane, whose boyfriend, Bill was on leave from the Air Force. That is how she met Ron and as they say “the rest is history”.

Ron and Dolly were married on July 7, 1956, in Binghamton NY, making their home in Buffalo, NY. Dolly worked at the Iroquois Gas Co. in the recipe test kitchen, while Ron finished College, competed for The West Side Rowing Club and worked for The Ford Motor Co Marketing and Sales Division. It was here that daughters Beth and Diane were born.

Ford then sent the family to Oakland, New Jersey where son John was born. After a transfer back to Buffalo, Dolly worked for Niagara Mohawk Power Co demonstrating the virtues of Electrical Appliances to housewives. In 1967, Dolly helped organize the Buffalo Jills Cheerleaders Squad. At the age of 37, with 3 children under the age of 7, she was the “Oldest Original Buffalo Jill”. Dolly was later able to attend and commiserate with her “Beloved Buffalo Bills” at 3 of their 4 Super Bowl appearances.

The family then moved to Cape Coral, Florida, where Dolly designed the program, facility and taught special needs children at the newly renovated and integrated Fort Myers High School. Her mother Lucille enlisted Dolly and family to participate in the Cape Coral Community Theater. Soon, several Ex-Ford Co-Workers convinced Ron to join Winnebago Industries, thus off the family went, first to Sturbridge Mass (in January of 1972 during a Nor-Easter that dumped 3 feet of snow) and then in the Fall of 1973 on to Mason City, Iowa.

In Mason City, Dolly was heavily involved in church and community, volunteering in many ways for many organizations. When Dolly was not delivering Avon, training new Girl Scout Leaders or working at Damon’s or JoAnn Fabrics she could be found serving the community in many capacities.
As a member of P.E.O., Chapter IW, holding several positions.

For Mason City Youth Hockey Dolly was a Hockey MOM, The First Recording Secretary in 1973 and kept score and stats for 15 years for The House leagues, Mohawk HS Hockey and the North Iowa Huskies.

A Hoover School PTO Past President; a Den Mother and Troop Advisor for the Boy Scouts of America; A 50+ year member of the Girl Scouts USA in FL, MA, NY and IA holding several positions not limited to President of the North Iowa Girl Scout Council and as an employee who trained Troup Leaders. One highlight, among many GSA memories for Dolly, was the 1980 invitation to a White House reception for National Girl Scout leaders and meeting the Honorary GSA President Rosalynn Carter!
As a North Iowa Medical Center Volunteer and Fund-Raising Manager for a New CT scan and then as a Mercy One Volunteer with over 5500 hours served.
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation member and a volunteer for the Music Man Square, most notably as Mrs. Paroo’s Gift Shop Manager for over 10 years.
Mason City Community Theater Box Office Manager for 11 years - The theaters mural is her grandson Nathan Hanna’s Eagle Scout Project.

Besides her enthusiasm for volunteering, Dolly also enjoyed just going to the theater (especially seeing Camelot on Broadway with the original cast) and traveling, Visiting 48 of the 50 States. Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Some highlights were dining at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Ruder Oxen inn in Heidelberg and Bunratty Castle in Ireland. Being a chaperone for The Mason City High School Band in Vienna and attending the 1984 and 1996 Olympics in LA and Atlanta.

However, first and foremost, Dolly loved being with her children, grandchildren, family and friends.

In 2015, she received the devastating diagnosis of Lymphoma. In 2021, more bad news, lung cancer which she courageously fought for her last 9 months.
Dolly is survived by her husband of 65 years, Ron; daughter Beth Hancock, Clear Lake IA; daughter Diane Zekoff of Phoenix, AZ; son John of Mason City IA. Also left to cherish her memory are her 6 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Jennifer Trees (Peter) Maduri and Addison “Addy” Rose Maduri, North Tonawanda, NY; Matthew Trees and Katherine Rohlfing, Kent, WA; Robby Hancock and Taryn Bank, Ames, IA; Hannah Zekoff and Shawn Gulstad, Tempe, AZ; Jeffrey (Shana) Zekoff and Easton Allen Zekoff, Tucson AZ; Nathan Hanna, Silver Creek, NY. Sister Marilyn (Gene) Murkison, Statesboro, GA; Sister-in-law, Gail Hanna Dio, Cheektowaga, NY and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her in-laws, Jack and Virginia (Dawson) Hanna and sister-in-law Karen White Conte.