Arlington Heights woman remembered as 'amazing volunteer'

Dolores Kaiser lived her life for others.

You might call her the ultimate volunteer, which hardly went unnoticed by her Catholic parish of more than 40 years.

Kaiser earned the St. Edna Catholic Church ACCW (Council of Catholic Women) "Woman of the Year" award in 2007 for her outstanding service through the Arlington Heights parish.

A devoted mother of five children, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild, Kaiser, 89, died June 11 from complications of COVID-19 and Parkinson's disease, at Addolorata Villa in Wheeling.

"The Addolorata is an absolutely wonderful place, but her big frustration was that she wanted to keep helping people," said her daughter, JeanMarie Brownson. "They always tried to tell her to just take care of yourself and she was like 'That is so not like me.' She didn't even know how to do that."

Kaiser, a longtime Arlington Heights resident who grew up in Chicago, was a dedicated volunteer for many ministries, including Faith Community Homes, Meals on Wheels, Prison Ministries and Grandparents Prayer Time. She also served on the board of St. Edna's Women's Guild, was a scout leader and a religious education teacher at St. Juliana's in Chicago.

Most recently, she taught English as a second language and served as a mentor to many in the Arlington Heights community.

"She was an amazing volunteer,' JeanMarie said. "We started adding up all the different things she did and we couldn't get them all into the obituary."

Talking to Dolores, you would never have a clue of everything she did to assist others.

"She was so modest about it," JeanMarie said. "We were all grown with our own kids and we always tried to be with our parents for Sunday brunch.

"And she just kind of told us that 'Oh yeah, this week I met the bishop', and we were like 'What?'. And she says 'Oh, I was awarded (the Woman of the Year). She and our father (Martin) went, but she didn't invite any of us because she was so modest."

When she wasn't busy helping others, Dolores and Martin traveled to 17 countries and all 50 states. They were active in Worldwide Marriage Encounter and made lifelong friends through the organization.

She also loved to exercise by walking around Lake Arlington near her home, and playing golf and tennis. She was a reluctant camper, going on trips just to spend more time with friends from St. Edna's and her family.

Dolores worked at Federal Life Insurance Company in Riverwoods for more than 24 years, enjoying her career as an underwriter until her retirement.

Early in her life, she joined the Sisters of Christian Charity order, spending time as a primary schoolteacher in St. Louis. After leaving the convent, she went to work for Illinois Bell as a customer service representative.

She met her future husband at a Catholic Youth Organization dance. She didn't let him drive her home but gave him her telephone number.

That was the start of more than 63 years of love and friendship, until Martin died in October 2018.

Services for Dolores will be private. Interment will be at Maryhill Catholic Cemetery in Niles.

In lieu of flowers, consider memorials to Clearbrook 1835 W. Central Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.